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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fine — high quality
  3. clip — a video
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rash — a series
  11. snap — to click
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rash — hasty
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cold — an illness
  20. clip — to cut
  21. craft — boats
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — all right
  24. last — to go on

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