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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cue — a hint
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. craft — boats
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. saw — the tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. season — in sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cold — an illness
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. row — a line
  21. craft — a skill
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. craft — a handicraft

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