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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. content — the amount
  3. branch — a division
  4. last — finally
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. capital — money
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. content — happy
  9. last — to go on
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. capital — a city
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. last — final
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. craft — a skill
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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