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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. shower — rain
  3. row — to paddle
  4. ground — a position
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. swing — to play on
  8. ground — the earth
  9. swing — in golf
  10. row — a line
  11. swing — music
  12. craft — a skill
  13. ground — crushed
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fine — high quality
  20. perch — the fish
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fine — all right

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