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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: straw · craft · row · track · last · wake · pit · nail

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. last — finally
  9. track — a path
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. craft — a skill
  13. pit — a hole
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. craft — boats
  18. track — a song
  19. pit — in a race
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wake — a trail
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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