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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mate — a friend
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mate — to breed
  8. craft — boats
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pop — music
  11. march — the month
  12. pop — to visit
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bear — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. mate — a partner

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