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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 116 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — an injury
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wound — an injury
  10. craft — boats
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. squash — to crush
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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