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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. rash — a series
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hand — help
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. swing — to play on
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. craft — a skill
  17. rash — hasty
  18. clip — to cut
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. swing — in golf

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