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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. file — a document
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cap — a lid
  5. file — a tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. rule — a law
  17. field — for sport
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. file — a line of people
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. craft — a skill
  24. rule — government

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