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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 124 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. craft — a skill
  4. stem — to come from
  5. saw — the tool
  6. key — for a lock
  7. hand — in cards
  8. saw — the tool
  9. key — the most important part
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. hand — help
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. craft — boats
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. deal — to handle
  16. kid — child
  17. chip — to eat
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. key — in music
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. chip — for betting
  24. craft — a handicraft

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