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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. craft — boats
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cell — in biology
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rush — hurry
  19. cell — a phone
  20. tear — to rip
  21. snap — to click
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. craft — a handicraft

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