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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · rock · pound · straw · craft · band

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. band — a ring
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. craft — boats
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rock — music
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. band — a music group
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — a straw man

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