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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 120 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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. game — wild animals
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — a skill
  10. game — a match
  11. court — of law
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. season — in sport
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — not warm
  24. season — of the year

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