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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — a committee
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. craft — a skill
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. shower — rain
  10. craft — boats
  11. cold — an illness
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bass — low music
  16. bore — to tire
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. board — to get on
  19. bore — to drill
  20. pit — in a race
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. pit — a hole

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