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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. stand — to bear
  3. clip — a video
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bass — the fish
  7. present — a gift
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bass — low music
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. clip — for paper
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. craft — boats
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. present — there
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. craft — a skill
  24. present — the time now

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