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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wind — moving air
  3. craft — boats
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — money
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — a city
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. last — finally
  18. craft — a skill

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