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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. root — of a word
  6. craft — a skill
  7. present — a gift
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. wound — an injury
  13. present — the time now
  14. craft — boats
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. present — there
  19. row — a line
  20. stem — to come from
  21. row — to paddle
  22. root — the cause
  23. wake — a trail
  24. craft — a handicraft

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