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

Word bank: file · date · snap · bay · content · craft · rule · wind

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. content — the amount
  3. craft — boats
  4. file — a line of people
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. date — the fruit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. wind — moving air
  10. content — happy
  11. craft — a skill
  12. file — a document
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rule — a law
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. file — a tool
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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