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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. spring — the season
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. degree — temperature
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. spring — of water
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. craft — a skill
  14. drill — a practice
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cold — an illness

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