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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. swing — music
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. craft — boats
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cap — of ice
  19. swing — to play on
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mouse — the animal

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