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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. craft — boats
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — a trail
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. content — happy
  12. saw — the tool
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. hand — help
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lie — to recline
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — the amount
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. craft — a handicraft

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