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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cap — of ice
  3. craft — a skill
  4. row — to paddle
  5. craft — boats
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cap — a lid
  8. capital — money
  9. bass — low music
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. row — a line
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bass — the fish
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cap — a hat
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. court — of law
  23. capital — a city
  24. bass — the instrument

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