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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. spell — letters
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. swing — in golf
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — music
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cold — not warm
  12. march — music
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. march — the month
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chair — a leader
  18. swing — to play on
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. scale — size or range

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