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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: hand · cold · bore · craft · dip · bear · vault · jam

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bear — the animal
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. craft — a skill
  7. hand — in cards
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cold — an illness
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. hand — help
  13. bear — the animal
  14. vault — a safe
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. craft — boats
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bore — to drill
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. jam — a tight spot

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