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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. pound — a weight
  3. club — for golf
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. craft — a skill
  8. shower — to wash
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chest — a box
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. club — a group
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. shower — rain
  23. craft — boats
  24. spell — a short time

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