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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mark — a grade
  7. craft — a skill
  8. hand — help
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. craft — boats
  16. season — of the year
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mark — a trace
  20. cold — not warm
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. season — in sport

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