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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. roll — a list
  3. craft — a skill
  4. plane — a tool
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. snap — to click
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. last — finally
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cell — a phone
  11. last — final
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. craft — boats
  23. hand — part of the body
  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