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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bass — the fish
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — boats
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bass — low music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — a gift
  15. ground — a position
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. present — there
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rest — what's left
  20. craft — a skill
  21. present — the time now
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rest — a break
  24. wind — moving air

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