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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spring — of water
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. stock — goods
  6. craft — boats
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — ground
  11. prune — to trim
  12. vault — a safe
  13. swing — in golf
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — the season
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. land — to come down
  20. swing — music
  21. spring — a coil
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. stock — shares
  24. clip — for paper

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