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

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. scale — in music
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. craft — boats
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. last — to go on
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. can — a tin
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. craft — a skill
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. can — to be able to
  20. last — finally
  21. can — a tin
  22. mine — for digging
  23. last — final
  24. chip — for betting

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