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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fine — all right
  9. spring — of water
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fine — high quality
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. craft — boats
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. spring — the season
  22. rash — a series
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bark — to shout

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