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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. sharp — clever
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — boats
  11. row — a line
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. row — to paddle
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kid — child
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bulb — for light
  24. tear — from crying

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