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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 · cabinet · foot · cold · bass · perch · spring · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cold — not warm
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — boats
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. perch — the fish
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. spring — the season
  16. bass — low music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. spring — of water
  21. craft — a skill
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. foot — part of the body

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