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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. scale — in music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wind — moving air
  5. suit — in cards
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. scale — size or range
  11. clip — for paper
  12. suit — clothes
  13. clip — a video
  14. craft — a skill
  15. spring — a coil
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. suit — to fit
  18. wake — a trail
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wind — to turn a key

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