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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cue — a signal
  6. pop — music
  7. cue — a hint
  8. pop — soda
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. file — a document
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cue — for pool
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rock — a stone
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. file — a line of people
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. file — a tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. patient — a sick person

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