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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. date — the fruit
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ground — the earth
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cap — of ice
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cap — a hat
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. clip — a video
  15. cap — a lid
  16. clip — to cut
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. ground — a position
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — boats

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