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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bass — low music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. craft — a skill
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. craft — boats
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fine — high quality
  15. pass — a permit
  16. file — a document
  17. fine — all right
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. file — a tool
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bore — to tire
  23. file — a line of people
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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