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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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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: cold · prune · jam · safe · pound · present · craft · fan

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. craft — a skill
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. prune — to trim
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. present — there
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. pound — a weight
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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