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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wind — moving air
  7. craft — boats
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wake — a trail
  12. roll — a list
  13. tear — from crying
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. plane — a tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. spell — letters
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. wake — before a funeral

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