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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. bank — for money
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — the month
  5. craft — boats
  6. row — to paddle
  7. game — wild animals
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. march — the month
  10. craft — a skill
  11. march — music
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — an illness
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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