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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. lie — to recline
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. craft — a skill
  7. capital — money
  8. last — final
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — finally
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. cold — not warm
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cold — an illness
  17. craft — boats
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. last — to go on
  23. capital — a city
  24. cell — in biology

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