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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bound — certain
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spell — letters
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bound — tied together
  21. spell — magic
  22. chip — for betting
  23. bound — obliged
  24. hand — help

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