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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. club — a group
  3. last — final
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bark — to shout
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. face — part of the head
  8. content — the amount
  9. lean — thin
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. last — to go on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. club — for dancing
  18. face — to point toward
  19. club — for golf
  20. last — finally
  21. face — to confront
  22. craft — boats
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. content — happy

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