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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 120 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wake — a trail
  8. march — the month
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. craft — boats
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. march — music
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. pop — soda
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — in biology
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pop — to visit

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