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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. craft — a skill
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cold — not warm
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cue — a signal
  10. craft — boats
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. mark — a grade
  13. swing — in golf
  14. vault — a safe
  15. row — a line
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cold — an illness
  19. swing — to play on
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cue — a hint
  22. swing — music
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cue — for pool

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