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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cap — of ice
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fork — in a road
  9. swing — music
  10. march — the month
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cap — a hat
  13. march — music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. march — the month
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ruler — for measuring

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