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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. craft — a skill
  4. firm — decided
  5. firm — a company
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. firm — steady
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mug — a face
  12. roll — a list
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — an illness
  16. roll — a cake
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — moving air
  19. craft — boats
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mug — to rob
  22. file — a tool
  23. mug — a cup
  24. file — a document

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