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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cold — not warm
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. craft — boats
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. perch — the fish
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. season — of the year
  18. cap — a hat
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cap — a lid
  23. season — in sport
  24. craft — a skill

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