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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. craft — boats
  3. fall — the season
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — a skill
  24. rock — a stone

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