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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mug — a face
  5. clip — a video
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. craft — a skill
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mug — to rob
  10. cap — a hat
  11. current — electric
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cap — of ice
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mug — a cup
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — of water
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cap — a lid
  24. jam — a tight spot

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