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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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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: fan · craft · bark · saw · pit · cold · rest · bass

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — an illness
  4. craft — boats
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bass — the fish
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bass — low music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pit — in a race
  24. craft — a skill

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