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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 116 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: last · craft · trunk · row · scale · cap · pop · leaves

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. craft — boats
  3. row — a line
  4. craft — a skill
  5. pop — soda
  6. last — finally
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. scale — size or range
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. scale — in music
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cap — a hat
  21. pop — music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. last — to go on

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