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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · craft · march · bulb · cold · arm · shower · squash

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. march — music
  7. pop — music
  8. craft — boats
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pop — soda
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. march — the month
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cold — an illness
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. march — the month
  19. bulb — for light
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pop — to visit

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