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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. craft — a skill
  3. band — a music group
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. craft — boats
  12. fork — in a road
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wax — to grow
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. last — finally
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. deal — an agreement

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