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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. bound — tied together
  8. mate — a friend
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — farmland
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wind — moving air
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. field — a subject
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. field — for sport
  19. mate — a partner
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bound — certain
  24. wind — moving air

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