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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. cold — not warm
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cold — an illness
  10. craft — boats
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. scale — in music
  14. charge — electricity
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. charge — a price
  21. scale — size or range
  22. charge — in control
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — a video

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