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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. squash — the sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rash — hasty
  21. squash — to crush
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rash — a series
  24. squash — the vegetable

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