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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. perch — the fish
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. craft — boats
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ground — a position
  21. clip — a video
  22. lean — thin
  23. ground — the earth
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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