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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. capital — money
  3. track — a path
  4. mug — a face
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — a song
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — boats
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — a cup
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mug — to rob
  22. deal — to handle
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. track — to keep track

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