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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cell — a phone
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. drill — a practice
  9. craft — a skill
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. craft — boats
  15. drill — army training
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. drill — the tool
  22. vault — a safe
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. mouse — for a computer

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