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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. clip — a video
  3. last — final
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. craft — a skill
  6. board — a committee
  7. bat — the animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. last — finally
  10. board — to get on
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. last — to go on
  16. lean — thin
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lean — to bend
  19. clip — to cut
  20. craft — boats
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com