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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. foot — a measure
  3. tear — from crying
  4. key — in music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. press — newspapers
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. key — for a lock
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. press — a publisher
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. craft — a skill
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. press — to push
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. current — of water
  24. tear — from crying

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