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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. face — to confront
  6. bore — to tire
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. craft — boats
  10. kid — child
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. face — to point toward
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fall — the season
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bore — to drill
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. chest — a box
  23. fall — to drop
  24. face — part of the head

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