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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — a match
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. kid — child
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. net — for catching
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kid — to tease
  14. craft — boats
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. net — after costs
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. net — in sport
  21. tear — to rip
  22. game — wild animals
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pass — a permit

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