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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. kid — child
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. craft — boats
  6. bass — low music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cell — a phone
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bass — the fish
  17. row — a line
  18. cell — in biology

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