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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. craft — boats
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. snap — to click
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mate — a partner
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. hand — help
  11. mate — to breed
  12. face — to confront
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pit — a hole
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. date — the fruit
  18. pit — in a race
  19. craft — a skill
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. face — part of the head
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wound — an injury
  24. date — on the calendar

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