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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. mug — to rob
  3. swing — in golf
  4. craft — a skill
  5. net — in sport
  6. scale — size or range
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. swing — to play on
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mug — a cup
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. net — after costs
  14. wax — to grow
  15. net — for catching
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. craft — boats
  19. mug — a face
  20. swing — music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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