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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 120 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fork — in a road
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. band — a music group
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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