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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: plane · craft · bark · hide · march · cold · cell · swing

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. march — the month
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cell — in biology
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. plane — a tool
  15. march — music
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — a phone
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cold — an illness
  24. swing — to play on

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