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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. snap — to click
  4. staff — a stick
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chip — for betting
  14. capital — a city
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mark — a trace
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. staff — employees
  20. craft — a skill
  21. mark — a grade
  22. capital — money
  23. craft — boats
  24. chip — in a computer

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