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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: craft · dip · kid · cold · fine · bark · march · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. march — music
  3. bark — to shout
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. dip — to sink
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. fine — high quality
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. kid — child
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fine — all right
  21. march — the month
  22. tube — a container
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — an illness

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