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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. last — final
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. last — to go on
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. suit — in cards
  13. cap — a hat
  14. suit — clothes
  15. rest — what's left
  16. scale — in music
  17. content — happy
  18. rest — a break
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cap — a lid
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rest — what's left
  23. content — the amount
  24. last — finally

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