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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: ball · suit · roll · sharp · spring · fan · craft · cold

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spring — of water
  7. ball — a dance
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spring — the season
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. suit — in cards
  12. craft — boats
  13. roll — a list
  14. ball — a great time
  15. craft — a skill
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. roll — a cake
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spring — a coil
  22. suit — clothes
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. roll — on a roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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