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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 124 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. craft — a skill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chest — a box
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — size or range
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. club — a group
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. club — for golf
  23. craft — boats
  24. club — for dancing

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