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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. land — to come down
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kid — to tease
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. land — ground
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. land — a country
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. cold — an illness

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