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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. dip — to sink
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — from crying
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — to go on
  13. net — after costs
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — an injury
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. tear — to rip
  22. snap — to click
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — boats

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