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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. craft — boats
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. tube — a container
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mine — for digging
  15. tube — the underground
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stand — to bear
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. craft — a handicraft

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