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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. charge — a price
  3. clip — a video
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cold — not warm
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — electricity
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fork — in a road
  19. craft — a skill
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cold — an illness
  23. plane — a tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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