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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 bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. content — happy
  5. craft — a skill
  6. club — for dancing
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. content — the amount
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. club — a group
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. club — for golf
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. content — videos and posts

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