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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. last — finally
  6. bass — the fish
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bass — low music
  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