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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — of ice
  6. kid — to tease
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — final
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. march — the month
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cap — a hat
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cap — a lid
  24. craft — boats

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