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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. pass — a permit
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. dip — to sink
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bound — certain
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. snap — to click
  21. cap — of ice
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bound — obliged

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