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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. craft — a skill
  4. pound — a weight
  5. current — of water
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. snap — to click
  13. current — happening now
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. current — electric
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. fan — to cool the air

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