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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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. craft — boats
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. staff — a stick
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. staff — employees
  9. wind — moving air
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wind — moving air
  12. track — a path
  13. wake — a trail
  14. track — a song
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. last — finally
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. squash — the sport
  20. last — to go on
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. track — to keep track
  23. staff — employees
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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