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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. craft — boats
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — in music
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. scale — size or range
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fall — the season
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. deal — to handle
  19. spring — of water
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. saw — the tool

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