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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. craft — a skill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spell — magic
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. clip — a video
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rule — a law
  10. spell — letters
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. craft — boats
  19. spell — a short time
  20. last — to go on
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. craft — a handicraft

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