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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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Word bank
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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. kid — to tease
  3. craft — a skill
  4. kick — in football
  5. band — a ring
  6. kid — child
  7. band — a music group
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. land — a country
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bat — the animal
  13. land — to come down
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — ground
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. perch — the fish
  23. craft — boats
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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