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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: mate · craft · tube · straw · bay · last · pitcher · cap

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tube — a container
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. mate — a friend
  10. last — to go on
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. mate — to breed
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cap — a lid
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cap — of ice
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. last — finally
  22. mate — a partner
  23. last — final
  24. tube — in a tire

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