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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: cold · craft · key · rash · deal · hand · snap · cabinet

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. rash — hasty
  4. deal — to handle
  5. craft — boats
  6. key — for a lock
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. rash — a series
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. craft — a skill
  17. key — in music
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cabinet — ministers

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