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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 120 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: pop · pit · club · tear · mouse · rule · cold · craft

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — an illness
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pop — soda
  7. pit — in a race
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pop — to visit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — a law
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rule — government
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. tear — to rip
  23. club — for dancing
  24. pop — music

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