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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. craft — a skill
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mate — to breed
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. craft — boats
  7. suit — clothes
  8. snap — to click
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — a video
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. chip — to eat
  14. scale — in music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chip — for betting
  17. degree — from a university
  18. suit — to fit
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. degree — temperature
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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