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

Word bank: craft · tear · bulb · stick · cabinet · fall · sharp · swing

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. sharp — clever
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bulb — for light
  24. fall — to drop

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