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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. craft — a skill
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. craft — boats
  5. last — final
  6. root — of a word
  7. bass — low music
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. root — of a plant
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. root — the cause
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wound — an injury
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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