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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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. march — the month
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — money
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. capital — a city
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cap — a lid
  11. mug — a cup
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — music
  14. craft — boats
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cap — of ice
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. march — the month
  22. mug — a face
  23. mug — to rob
  24. cap — a hat

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