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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. craft — boats
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wake — a trail
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. capital — money
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for golf
  15. capital — a city
  16. bass — low music
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — moving air
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — the fish
  24. club — for dancing

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