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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. clip — for paper
  8. suit — in cards
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. kid — to tease
  11. suit — clothes
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. clip — a video
  15. craft — boats
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pop — soda
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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