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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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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 · firm · craft · patient · file · wake

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. craft — a skill
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. file — a tool
  7. craft — boats
  8. file — a document
  9. firm — steady
  10. file — a line of people
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — moving air
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — a company
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wind — to turn a key
  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