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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 120 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lie — to recline
  3. band — a music group
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. band — a ring
  6. hand — help
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. plane — a tool
  10. craft — boats
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. root — of a word
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rest — what's left
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hand — in cards
  19. root — the cause
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wake — a trail

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