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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: racket · craft · cabinet · pit · kid · bass · spring · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pit — a hole
  8. spring — of water
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bass — low music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — boats
  21. spring — the season
  22. kid — child
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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