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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. perch — the fish
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fine — high quality
  19. rash — hasty
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. fine — all right
  23. wake — a trail
  24. craft — a handicraft

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