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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. charge — electricity
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. charge — a price
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rock — music
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cold — not warm
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. craft — boats
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. charge — in control
  18. rock — a stone
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — a series
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rock — to move gently

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