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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. craft — boats
  3. bark — to shout
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. stem — to come from
  8. date — the fruit
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spell — letters
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. last — finally
  14. spell — magic
  15. saw — the tool
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. spell — a short time
  19. last — to go on
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stem — of a plant

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