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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rock — music
  4. craft — boats
  5. swing — music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — the most important part
  8. swing — in golf
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cold — an illness
  12. key — in music
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. swing — to play on
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cold — not warm
  20. perch — the fish
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. rock — a stone

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