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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rash — hasty
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rash — a series
  8. ground — a position
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tear — to rip
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — a trail
  14. tear — from crying
  15. craft — boats
  16. board — to get on
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. hand — help
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. ground — the earth

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