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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a tool
  5. craft — boats
  6. scale — size or range
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. file — a document
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ground — a position
  17. shower — rain
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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