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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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. date — the fruit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. file — a tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. file — a document
  8. bore — to tire
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — an illness
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. tear — from crying
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bore — to drill
  22. craft — a skill
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bore — gave birth

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