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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. craft — a skill
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — rain
  13. craft — boats
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ball — a great time
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cell — a phone
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — not warm

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