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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. rule — a law
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pound — a weight
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — government
  16. game — a match
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cell — in biology
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cell — a phone
  21. craft — boats
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. straw — a straw man

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