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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: bat · chair · wave · last · craft · march · date · cap

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. cap — of ice
  2. last — to go on
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. craft — boats
  9. march — music
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. last — finally
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. last — final
  15. cap — a lid
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. march — the month
  19. date — the fruit
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. march — the month
  23. chair — a leader
  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