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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 116 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 shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cap — a hat
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — boats
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. root — of a word
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — of a plant
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cap — of ice
  19. fine — all right
  20. chip — for betting
  21. wake — a trail
  22. root — the cause
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. chip — in a computer

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