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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bat — the animal
  3. craft — boats
  4. rash — a series
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rock — music
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. craft — a skill
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rock — a stone
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fork — to eat with

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