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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. craft — a skill
  3. chip — to eat
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mine — for digging
  7. file — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. craft — boats
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. mark — a grade
  23. file — a document
  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