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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 120 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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 — a handicraft
  2. march — the month
  3. pop — music
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — soda
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. march — music
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. craft — a skill
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chip — to eat
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. craft — boats
  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