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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cell — a phone
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. game — wild animals
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. kid — child
  12. game — a match
  13. kid — to tease
  14. snap — to click
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. march — the month
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cell — in biology
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. sharp — clever
  22. craft — a skill
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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