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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. craft — a skill
  3. present — the time now
  4. mine — for digging
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. last — final
  7. current — electric
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. toast — bread
  11. track — a path
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cold — not warm
  15. craft — boats
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cold — an illness
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. last — to go on
  21. present — there
  22. current — happening now
  23. present — a gift
  24. current — of water

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