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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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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: wind · race · wake · bat · stick · lie · craft · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lie — to recline
  3. race — humankind
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. race — the arms race
  7. last — finally
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — a contest
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. craft — boats
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. last — to go on
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — a handicraft

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