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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. drill — the tool
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bass — low music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. drill — a practice
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. prune — to trim
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spell — letters
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spell — magic
  17. pop — music
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — not warm
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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