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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. spell — magic
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. spell — letters
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rush — hurry
  11. spell — a short time
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. clip — to cut
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cap — a lid
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. craft — a skill
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. clip — a video

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