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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. land — a country
  3. last — final
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tear — to rip
  11. object — to protest
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — to go on
  18. land — to come down
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. land — ground
  22. object — an aim
  23. tear — from crying
  24. last — finally

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