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

Word bank: tear · craft · saw · shower · jam · object · last · spell

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. spell — magic
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — to protest
  5. spell — letters
  6. last — final
  7. tear — from crying
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. shower — to wash
  10. object — a thing
  11. last — to go on
  12. craft — boats
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — finally
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. craft — a skill
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. tear — to rip
  22. saw — the tool
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. spell — a short time

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