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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. cold — not warm
  4. court — of law
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. court — of a king
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. current — of water
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — an illness
  17. craft — boats
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. current — happening now
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. hand — in cards
  24. current — electric

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