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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: snap · foot · fine · cold · bear · game · bat · craft

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. cold — an illness
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fine — all right
  6. game — a match
  7. snap — to click
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — the animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. craft — boats
  17. fine — high quality
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. craft — a skill
  24. foot — the bottom

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