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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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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. craft — a skill
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — in biology
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. squash — the sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. land — a country
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. land — to come down
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. band — a music group
  17. snap — to click
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. land — ground
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cell — a phone
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. squash — the vegetable

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