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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · calf · fork · wax · root · chest · clip · prune

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — for paper
  5. root — of a plant
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fork — in a road
  9. root — the cause
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. root — of a word
  12. chest — a box
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wax — to grow
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. prune — the fruit

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