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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. press — to push
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. press — newspapers
  11. face — to confront
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — a skill
  14. hand — help
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. press — a publisher
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. face — part of the head
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — to point toward
  24. nail — for a hammer

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