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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. march — the month
  6. land — to come down
  7. cold — an illness
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. shower — rain
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — not warm
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bulb — for light
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. land — ground
  18. craft — a skill
  19. bulb — for light
  20. land — a country
  21. march — music
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bulb — of a plant

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