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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wax — to grow
  5. present — a gift
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. last — final
  9. present — there
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. last — finally
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mine — for digging
  16. craft — boats
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. snap — to click
  19. last — to go on
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. present — the time now
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. sharp — exactly

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