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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. band — a ring
  6. content — happy
  7. wind — moving air
  8. shower — to wash
  9. staff — employees
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. content — the amount
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — clothes
  14. shower — rain
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. suit — in cards
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. band — a music group
  21. craft — a skill
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — with an edge

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