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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. last — final
  5. cue — a signal
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cue — a hint
  8. last — to go on
  9. cue — for pool
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cold — not warm
  12. swing — to play on
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. craft — boats
  20. bear — the animal
  21. swing — music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. last — finally
  24. row — a line

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