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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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Word bank
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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. craft — boats
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. can — to be able to
  5. pit — in a race
  6. degree — from a university
  7. craft — a skill
  8. row — a line
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rest — a break
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cold — an illness
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. rest — what's left
  24. racket — for tennis

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