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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mine — for digging
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. craft — boats
  6. file — a document
  7. wake — a trail
  8. file — a line of people
  9. perch — the fish
  10. staff — employees
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. file — a tool
  15. staff — a stick
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. staff — employees
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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