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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 116 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. snap — to click
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rule — a law
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stock — goods
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. clip — for paper
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — boats
  19. hand — help
  20. rule — government
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — a video

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