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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: craft · toast · bowl · snap · stick · saw · mine · patient

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. craft — a skill
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. toast — bread
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to click
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. saw — the tool
  20. craft — boats
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bowl — a dish

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