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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hand — help
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cue — a signal
  5. craft — boats
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cue — for pool
  9. ground — a position
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. craft — a skill
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. ground — crushed
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cue — a hint
  23. ground — the earth
  24. craft — a handicraft

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