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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hand — help
  3. chip — for betting
  4. snap — to click
  5. hand — in cards
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chip — to eat
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. squash — the sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ground — crushed
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. saw — the tool
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. squash — to crush

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