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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. clip — to cut
  3. craft — boats
  4. cue — a signal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. rule — government
  11. cold — not warm
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. row — to paddle
  16. craft — a skill
  17. season — of the year
  18. cue — for pool
  19. season — in sport
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — a video
  22. cue — a hint
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cold — the Cold War

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