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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. craft — boats
  3. can — a tin
  4. scale — in music
  5. craft — a skill
  6. tube — the underground
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. clip — for paper
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. can — to be able to
  12. sharp — clever
  13. clip — to cut
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — a video
  21. scale — size or range
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. tube — a container
  24. snap — to click

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