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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. present — the time now
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. scale — in music
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. rash — a series
  8. scale — size or range
  9. present — a gift
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. present — there
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rule — a law
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. rash — hasty
  18. file — a tool
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — boats
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. rule — government
  24. wake — a trail

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