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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. rock — a stone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. craft — a skill
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — not warm
  10. clip — a video
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. march — the month
  14. tube — a container
  15. craft — boats
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — music
  21. clip — to cut
  22. march — music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitcher — a jug

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