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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. last — final
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. last — to go on
  9. pitch — completely
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. craft — boats
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. last — finally
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. content — happy
  21. face — to confront
  22. bat — the animal
  23. content — the amount
  24. bowl — a dish

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