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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. current — of water
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cue — a hint
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. swing — music
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. spring — of water
  15. craft — boats
  16. spring — the season
  17. current — electric
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. current — happening now
  20. swing — to play on
  21. spring — a coil
  22. swing — in golf
  23. craft — a skill
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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