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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 116 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. craft — a skill
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. file — a tool
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. plane — a tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bear — the animal
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. file — a document
  16. bear — the animal
  17. craft — boats
  18. band — a music group
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. band — a ring
  23. file — a line of people
  24. plane — in geometry

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