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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. court — of a king
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. court — of law
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stand — to bear
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — for sport
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. clip — to cut
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. tear — from crying
  21. craft — boats
  22. tear — to rip
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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