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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 120 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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. shower — rain
  3. craft — a skill
  4. kid — child
  5. march — the month
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. staff — employees
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. land — ground
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. land — a country
  15. staff — a stick
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. land — to come down
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — to tease
  24. staff — employees

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