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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. wind — moving air
  3. key — for a lock
  4. file — a tool
  5. key — in music
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. drill — the tool
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. file — a line of people
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. key — the most important part
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a document
  14. drill — a practice
  15. craft — a skill
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. drill — army training
  20. rock — a stone
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rock — music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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