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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cold — an illness
  6. file — a tool
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rush — hurry
  10. swing — music
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — not warm
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mark — a trace
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. craft — boats
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. mark — a grade
  20. dip — to sink
  21. sharp — clever
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. swing — in golf
  24. file — a document

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