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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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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 · pass · cold · pitch · mug · rock · shower · swing

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rock — a stone
  4. mug — a face
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. craft — a skill
  7. swing — music
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. mug — to rob
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cold — not warm
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rock — music
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pass — a permit
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. shower — rain
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. mug — a cup

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