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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — a skill
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mate — a partner
  12. foot — a measure
  13. clip — a video
  14. pound — a weight
  15. content — happy
  16. spring — the season
  17. mate — a friend
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mate — to breed
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. clip — to cut
  24. temple — side of the head

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