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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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. prune — to trim
  4. face — part of the head
  5. degree — an amount
  6. suit — to fit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. suit — in cards
  9. shower — to wash
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. degree — from a university
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — to trim
  18. suit — clothes
  19. craft — a skill
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tear — to rip
  22. shower — rain
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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