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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rest — a break
  4. craft — boats
  5. wound — an injury
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — to come from
  11. squash — the sport
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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