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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cue — a hint
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. cue — for pool
  7. hand — help
  8. bulb — for light
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cue — a signal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bound — obliged
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bulb — for light
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. craft — a skill
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cold — the Cold War

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