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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: craft · pitch · date · chair · wake · clip · last · current

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. current — of water
  3. craft — a skill
  4. last — final
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. last — to go on
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. last — finally
  15. current — happening now
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. craft — boats
  20. current — electric
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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