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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — the season
  11. craft — boats
  12. club — a group
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — child
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. spring — a coil
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. fall — to drop
  22. club — for dancing
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. club — for golf

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