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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stock — goods
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cap — a lid
  9. craft — a skill
  10. rock — music
  11. craft — boats
  12. deal — to handle
  13. stock — shares
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cold — not warm
  20. game — a match
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. game — a kind of play

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