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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 · snap · face · pitcher · stick · march · chair · saw

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. march — music
  9. craft — a skill
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. face — part of the head
  14. march — the month
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. face — to confront
  17. chair — a leader
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. snap — to click
  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