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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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. bank — for money
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mark — a trace
  7. hand — help
  8. bank — for money
  9. mine — for digging
  10. hand — in cards
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cue — a signal
  13. craft — boats
  14. mark — a grade
  15. tube — a container
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cue — a hint
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bank — of a river
  24. mine — belonging to me

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