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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pop — soda
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pit — a hole
  5. shower — rain
  6. pop — music
  7. squash — to crush
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — boats
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cold — an illness
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. squash — the sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. shower — to wash
  23. craft — a skill
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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