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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. club — a group
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. last — finally
  7. land — to come down
  8. club — for dancing
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — final
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chair — a leader
  13. land — ground
  14. cold — not warm
  15. craft — boats
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. land — a country
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. last — to go on
  22. clip — a video
  23. club — for golf
  24. foot — the bottom

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