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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. face — part of the head
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. net — after costs
  7. clip — a video
  8. net — in sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. face — to confront
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rock — music
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bass — low music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. net — for catching
  17. cap — a lid
  18. clip — for paper
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rock — a stone
  23. face — to point toward
  24. clip — to cut

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