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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. snap — to click
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. chest — a box
  5. fine — all right
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wound — an injury
  12. craft — a skill
  13. fine — high quality
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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