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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. spring — of water
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bass — low music
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bear — the animal
  16. field — for sport
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. field — farmland
  20. last — final
  21. spring — the season
  22. bear — the animal
  23. craft — boats
  24. field — a subject

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