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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 120 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: ground · hand · file · craft · capital · snap · sharp · scale

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. file — a tool
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. hand — help
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. sharp — clever
  11. snap — to click
  12. scale — size or range
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ground — a position
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. capital — a city
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. capital — money
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. ground — crushed
  22. scale — in music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hand — in cards

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