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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. date — the fruit
  3. drill — the tool
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. craft — boats
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. snap — to click
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. drill — army training
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. drill — a practice
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. last — finally
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chair — a leader

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