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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. craft — boats
  3. last — to go on
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bass — low music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cold — not warm
  8. prune — to trim
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. last — final
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. craft — a skill
  20. rule — government
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — the Cold War

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