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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: arm · cabinet · wake · prune · tear · content · craft · last

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. tear — from crying
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. last — final
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. last — finally
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. craft — boats
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. last — to go on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. content — the amount
  23. prune — the fruit
  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