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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. can — a tin
  9. rash — a series
  10. spell — letters
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spell — a short time
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. spell — magic
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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