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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. current — happening now
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. current — electric
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. craft — boats
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. craft — a skill
  17. pitch — completely
  18. current — of water
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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