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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: dip · cabinet · face · sharp · can · craft · kid · cold

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. kid — to tease
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. dip — to sink
  6. craft — boats
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cold — an illness
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. craft — a skill
  12. can — a tin
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — not warm
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. face — part of the head
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — to point toward
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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