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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pop — to visit
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pop — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a tool
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pop — soda
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. craft — boats
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. rush — to hurry

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