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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. craft — a skill
  3. present — the time now
  4. scale — size or range
  5. craft — boats
  6. bass — the fish
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bass — low music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. present — a gift
  16. snap — to click
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. fine — high quality
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. present — there
  24. band — a ring

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