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

Word bank: suit · bowl · cell · wax · cold · craft · kick · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. suit — to fit
  3. kick — in football
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. row — a line
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. row — to paddle
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. suit — in cards
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. craft — boats
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cell — in biology
  21. suit — clothes
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bowl — to roll

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