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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. clip — a video
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pop — soda
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pop — to visit
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. clip — to cut
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. prune — to trim
  16. content — happy
  17. craft — a skill
  18. prune — to trim
  19. content — the amount
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pop — music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rush — to hurry

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