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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 116 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. degree — an amount
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. craft — boats
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. degree — from a university
  12. craft — a skill
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — a video
  18. wind — moving air

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