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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · arm · rash · hide · perch · tube · sharp · march

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. sharp — clever
  3. perch — the fish
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. tube — the underground
  8. rash — a series
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rash — hasty
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. craft — a skill
  14. march — the month
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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