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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. game — a match
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pound — a weight
  7. craft — a skill
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. craft — boats
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wind — moving air

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