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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. craft — a skill
  3. band — a music group
  4. last — finally
  5. track — a song
  6. band — a ring
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. last — to go on
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. present — there
  14. present — a gift
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. track — to keep track
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bat — the animal
  19. track — a path
  20. craft — boats
  21. rock — a stone
  22. present — the time now
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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