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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. craft — a skill
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. staff — employees
  6. craft — boats
  7. wake — a trail
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. spell — magic
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. staff — employees
  18. spell — letters
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rock — a stone
  24. staff — a stick

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