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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wind — moving air
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fork — in a road
  10. rush — hurry
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. chest — of your body
  23. hand — help
  24. craft — boats

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