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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: craft · cold · last · swing · cap · patient · tear · fine

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. tear — from crying
  5. craft — a skill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. swing — music
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. last — final
  15. fine — all right
  16. cap — a lid
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. swing — to play on
  21. craft — boats
  22. swing — in golf
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tear — to rip

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