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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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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: arm · mark · row · craft · cell · staff · rock · cold

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. staff — employees
  4. mark — a trace
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rock — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cell — a phone
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — a skill
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — not warm
  15. craft — boats
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cell — in biology
  24. rock — a stone

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