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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. cold — not warm
  4. craft — a skill
  5. scale — in music
  6. craft — boats
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cue — a signal
  12. scale — size or range
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. prune — to trim
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cue — for pool
  18. ball — a dance
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cue — a hint
  23. ball — a great time
  24. dip — to sink

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