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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. rock — music
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. root — of a word
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. last — to go on
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cold — not warm
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cold — an illness
  14. root — of a plant
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. craft — boats
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. root — the cause
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. pitch — a sports field

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