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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chest — of your body
  3. firm — decided
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. firm — steady
  7. chest — of your body
  8. firm — a company
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. chest — a box
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. pitch — completely
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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