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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. last — finally
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. fine — all right
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bound — tied together
  9. last — final
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — child
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bound — obliged
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bound — certain
  19. craft — a skill
  20. last — to go on
  21. mark — a grade
  22. fine — high quality
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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