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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: ball · club · safe · bowl · cold · craft · cell · saw

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cold — not warm
  11. club — for golf
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cell — a phone
  16. club — a group
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. ball — a dance
  19. saw — the tool
  20. craft — a skill
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cell — in biology

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