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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: wake · bulb · toast · craft · date · clip · pitcher · net

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. clip — to cut
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. craft — boats
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. clip — for paper
  12. net — in sport
  13. toast — bread
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. net — after costs
  19. date — the fruit
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. net — for catching
  23. clip — a video
  24. craft — a skill

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