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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. land — a country
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. kid — child
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rush — hurry
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. craft — boats
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. fall — the season
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bass — low music
  16. land — ground
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fall — to drop
  22. land — to come down
  23. bass — the fish
  24. rush — to hurry

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