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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bear — the animal
  8. shower — to wash
  9. last — final
  10. rock — music
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rock — a stone
  19. craft — a skill
  20. shower — rain
  21. court — of a king
  22. date — the fruit
  23. craft — boats
  24. court — for sport

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