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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — an injury
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — clothes
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — to rip
  9. clip — for paper
  10. craft — a skill
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. roll — a list
  13. craft — boats
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. roll — a cake
  16. drill — the tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. suit — in cards
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. tear — from crying
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. clip — to cut
  24. prune — to trim

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