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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cold — not warm
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. deal — to handle
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. game — a match
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cold — an illness

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