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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. craft — a skill
  6. game — a match
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. craft — boats
  11. game — wild animals
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. degree — temperature

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