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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. drill — army training
  5. root — of a plant
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wind — moving air
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. drill — the tool
  16. craft — boats
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause

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