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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. lean — to bend
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bass — the fish
  9. craft — boats
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. lean — thin
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. plane — a tool
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cap — a hat
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bass — low music
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wound — an injury

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