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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. snap — to click
  3. chip — to eat
  4. rash — hasty
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. date — the fruit
  8. craft — a skill
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. clip — a video
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cold — an illness
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. craft — boats
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chair — a leader

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