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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. clip — a video
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tube — a container
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. tube — the underground
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wind — moving air

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