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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. last — to go on
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. last — finally
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wax — to grow
  9. row — a line
  10. rash — hasty
  11. craft — boats
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rash — a series
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. last — final
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rest — what's left
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spring — of water
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. spring — the season

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