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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. last — to go on
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — finally
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. last — final
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. clip — to cut
  24. craft — boats

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