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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cap — a lid
  6. tear — from crying
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. cap — a hat
  9. craft — boats
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — money
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. saw — the tool
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a city
  18. cap — of ice
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. date — the fruit

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