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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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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cap — a hat
  4. last — to go on
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. last — final
  8. stock — shares
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cap — of ice
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. snap — to click
  14. wake — a trail
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. branch — a division
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. last — finally
  19. craft — a skill
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stock — goods
  24. branch — of a tree

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