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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. land — ground
  3. bound — certain
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bank — of a river
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. land — to come down
  10. bank — for money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. file — a tool
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bank — for money
  15. file — a document
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. land — a country
  18. drill — army training
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bound — obliged
  22. file — a line of people
  23. drill — a practice
  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