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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — to breed
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mate — a friend
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bear — the animal
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wind — moving air
  17. craft — boats
  18. clip — a video
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wake — a trail
  24. ball — a dance

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