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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. rest — what's left
  4. can — a tin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — what's left
  18. craft — a skill
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rest — a break
  23. wound — an injury
  24. dip — to sink

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