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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wound — an injury
  5. saw — the tool
  6. object — to protest
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. rush — hurry
  12. object — an aim
  13. saw — the tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. ball — a dance
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. ball — a great time
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. object — a thing
  24. ball — a round shape

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