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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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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: scale · last · bay · snap · craft · rock · rash · tear

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rash — a series
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. craft — a skill
  12. scale — in music
  13. rock — music
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. last — finally
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rock — a stone
  19. craft — boats
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to click

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