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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. band — a music group
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. land — ground
  9. spell — letters
  10. land — to come down
  11. prune — to trim
  12. band — a ring
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. last — to go on
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. last — final
  19. craft — boats
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. land — a country
  22. rule — government
  23. last — finally
  24. coach — a trainer

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