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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bass — low music
  3. cue — a signal
  4. scale — in music
  5. current — happening now
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. current — electric
  15. deal — to handle
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. current — of water
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cold — an illness
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. cue — for pool

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