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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. craft — boats
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. tube — a container
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wound — an injury
  13. swing — music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. craft — a skill
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stand — to bear
  21. swing — to play on
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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