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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pit — in a race
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — boats
  7. last — finally
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wake — a trail
  13. last — final
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. foot — a measure
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. row — a line
  18. last — to go on
  19. pit — a hole
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rash — a series
  22. row — to paddle
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. rash — hasty

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