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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 116 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cold — not warm
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cell — in biology
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. craft — a skill
  17. wax — to grow
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. track — a path
  20. wake — a trail
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. track — a song

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