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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bass — the fish
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bass — low music
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. row — a line
  10. season — of the year
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. craft — boats
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. row — to paddle
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. arm — part of the body

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