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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lie — to recline
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. current — electric
  7. bass — low music
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cold — not warm
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. current — of water
  16. spell — magic
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bass — the fish
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. current — happening now
  21. spell — letters
  22. craft — boats
  23. court — of a king
  24. bass — the instrument

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