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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 120 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: cold · craft · wake · swing · rash · chair · cell · squash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. swing — to play on
  4. squash — to crush
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. swing — music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cell — a phone
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. swing — in golf

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