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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. craft — a skill
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. roll — a list
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chip — to eat
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. craft — boats
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cold — an illness
  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