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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rash — a series
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. rash — hasty
  9. craft — boats
  10. shower — rain
  11. cold — an illness
  12. scale — in music
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. scale — size or range
  17. craft — a skill
  18. shower — to wash

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