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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. craft — boats
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. spell — magic
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. spell — letters
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. squash — to crush
  15. present — a gift
  16. craft — a skill
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. squash — the sport
  24. fork — in a road

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