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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — a series
  3. craft — a skill
  4. tube — the underground
  5. shower — to wash
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. shower — rain
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rash — hasty
  15. clip — a video
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — for paper
  18. craft — boats
  19. clip — to cut
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. tube — a container
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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