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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 120 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. cold — not warm
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. ball — a great time
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bulb — for light
  15. board — to get on
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bulb — for light
  18. ball — a dance
  19. craft — boats
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. board — a committee

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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