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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. swing — to play on
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cap — a hat
  5. craft — a skill
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cold — not warm
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. club — a group
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cap — a lid
  19. swing — music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cap — of ice
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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