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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. content — the amount
  3. craft — a skill
  4. chest — a box
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. land — a country
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. craft — boats
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. chest — of your body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. content — happy
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kick — in football
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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