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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. spell — letters
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. craft — boats
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ball — a great time
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spell — magic
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — a phone
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. spell — a short time

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