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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cap — a lid
  3. craft — a skill
  4. mug — to rob
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mug — a face
  14. craft — boats
  15. cap — a hat
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cap — of ice
  18. spell — magic
  19. chip — to eat
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chip — for betting

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