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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. swing — in golf
  8. press — to push
  9. pitch — completely
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fall — to drop
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — a practice
  20. craft — boats
  21. drill — army training
  22. swing — to play on
  23. drill — the tool
  24. swing — music

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