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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: bass · cold · prune · bay · craft · cell · fall · present

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cell — a phone
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. present — a gift
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. fall — the season
  10. craft — boats
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bass — the fish
  15. fall — to drop
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bass — low music
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cold — an illness
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bay — a horse colour

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