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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · land · snap · last · squash · craft · track · drill

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. land — a country
  7. drill — a practice
  8. track — a path
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. last — finally
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. land — to come down
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. track — to keep track
  15. content — happy
  16. craft — a skill
  17. snap — to click
  18. squash — to crush
  19. content — the amount
  20. track — a song
  21. craft — boats
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. land — ground

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