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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: swing · ruler · craft · bay · cold · track · rash · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. swing — to play on
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. can — a tin
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. can — a tin
  10. swing — music
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. track — a path
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. track — a song
  20. cold — not warm
  21. swing — in golf
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. craft — boats
  24. ruler — a monarch

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