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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 116 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pop — music
  4. hand — in cards
  5. scale — in music
  6. hand — help
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. file — a tool
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cue — a signal
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cue — a hint
  18. file — a line of people
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cue — for pool
  21. file — a document
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. scale — for weighing

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