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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. root — of a plant
  5. craft — boats
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cold — an illness
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. current — happening now
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. current — of water
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. capital — money
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. craft — a skill
  21. squash — the sport
  22. root — of a word
  23. current — electric
  24. root — the cause

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