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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. prune — to trim
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spring — a coil
  7. root — of a plant
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. kick — in football
  10. scale — size or range
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. spring — of water
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spring — the season
  20. tear — from crying
  21. scale — in music
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. craft — a skill

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