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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spring — the season
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — temperature
  9. shower — rain
  10. spring — of water
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wax — to grow
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. spring — a coil
  19. prune — to trim
  20. craft — boats
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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