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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. band — a music group
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. perch — the fish
  9. scale — size or range
  10. ground — the earth
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wound — an injury
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wound — an injury
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. ground — crushed
  20. band — a ring
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. craft — boats
  23. tear — from crying
  24. scale — in music

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