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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · cold · march · shower · swing · drill

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. drill — a practice
  3. swing — in golf
  4. cold — an illness
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — boats
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. drill — army training
  12. swing — music
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. drill — the tool

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