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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. craft — a skill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wake — a trail
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. club — for dancing
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. club — for golf
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. club — a group
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. squash — to crush
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. tear — to rip
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. craft — boats

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