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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · cold · charge · land · ball · snap · mark · squash

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cold — not warm
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. charge — electricity
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cold — an illness
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ball — a dance
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. land — to come down
  20. mark — a grade
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. ball — a great time
  24. squash — the sport

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