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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bear — the animal
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. clip — for paper
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. craft — boats
  13. pound — a weight
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — a video

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