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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 120 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. spell — letters
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. spell — a short time
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spell — magic
  11. degree — temperature
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bass — low music
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. scale — in music
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. saw — the tool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bass — the fish
  21. degree — an amount
  22. saw — the tool
  23. craft — boats
  24. cold — an illness

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