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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: safe · craft · pitch · snap · cold · chip · file · wave

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. file — a tool
  13. chip — for betting
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pitch — completely
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. file — a document
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. craft — boats

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