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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bass — the fish
  5. craft — boats
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. last — final
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lean — to bend
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bass — low music
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. lean — thin
  24. craft — a skill

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