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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. perch — the fish
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bank — of a river
  7. band — a ring
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rush — hurry
  10. band — a music group
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bank — for money
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mine — for digging
  19. craft — a skill
  20. bank — for money
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. band — a rubber band

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