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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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. spring — the season
  4. clip — a video
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. spring — a coil
  7. face — to confront
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spring — of water
  10. foot — a measure
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. craft — boats
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — to cut
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. hand — help
  22. face — part of the head
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. ruler — for measuring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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