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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 124 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. march — the month
  3. craft — a skill
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. tube — a container
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. tube — the underground
  16. stem — to come from
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. craft — boats
  19. kick — in football
  20. march — the month
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. saw — the tool
  23. march — music
  24. saw — the tool

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