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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mate — a partner
  3. craft — a skill
  4. race — humankind
  5. spell — letters
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bank — for money
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — in music
  14. spell — magic
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bank — for money
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spell — a short time
  22. craft — boats
  23. bank — of a river
  24. race — a contest

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