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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. present — a gift
  3. land — to come down
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bound — obliged
  8. land — a country
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — ground
  11. present — the time now
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. craft — boats
  14. bound — certain
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. craft — a skill
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bound — tied together
  23. present — there
  24. wind — moving air

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