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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 120 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: craft · lie · wake · file · fork · cap · content · kick

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fork — in a road
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. file — a document
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. lie — to recline
  10. file — a line of people
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. content — the amount
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. craft — a skill
  17. content — happy
  18. cap — of ice
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. craft — boats
  24. kick — in football

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