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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: net · squash · craft · last · cabinet · mark · cue · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. squash — to crush
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. land — to come down
  7. net — after costs
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cue — a hint
  10. craft — boats
  11. cue — a signal
  12. land — a country
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. net — for catching
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cue — for pool
  18. last — finally
  19. mark — a grade
  20. squash — the sport
  21. craft — a skill
  22. mark — a trace
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. net — in sport

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