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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Tom got himself 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. craft — boats
  2. bulb — for light
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. roll — a list
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. roll — a cake
  7. game — a match
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bear — the animal
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cold — not warm
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. game — wild animals
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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