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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. ball — a dance
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. ball — a great time
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cold — not warm
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bound — obliged
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. swing — music
  11. bound — certain
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. bound — tied together
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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