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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. stand — to bear
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — happy
  9. object — an aim
  10. clip — a video
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. row — to paddle
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. craft — boats
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — the amount
  18. dip — to sink
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. clip — to cut
  22. row — a line
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — a thing

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