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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. staff — employees
  4. clip — a video
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. clip — for paper
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. snap — to click
  13. staff — employees
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. row — to paddle
  17. dip — to sink
  18. sharp — clever
  19. clip — to cut
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. staff — a stick
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  24. dip — to dunk

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