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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. squash — the sport
  3. track — a path
  4. capital — money
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — to handle
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. craft — a skill
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. prune — to trim
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — an injury
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a song
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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