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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. craft — a skill
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — in biology
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. squash — the sport
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. snap — to click
  15. cell — a phone
  16. squash — to crush
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mark — a trace
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fan — a supporter

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