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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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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 · wake · kick · craft · stock · file

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. file — a document
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stock — goods
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kick — in football
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stock — shares
  16. craft — boats
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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