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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wind — moving air
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mug — a face
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. craft — boats
  11. fine — all right
  12. stand — to bear
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spell — letters
  19. date — the fruit
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — to rob
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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