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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. cap — a hat
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rush — hurry
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cap — of ice
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cap — a lid
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. kick — in football
  24. march — the month

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