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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — hasty
  6. net — in sport
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. clip — to cut
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. face — to confront
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. rash — a series
  17. net — for catching
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pound — a weight
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. net — after costs
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. clip — for paper

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