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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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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: deal · clip · craft · wind · march · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. craft — boats
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — music
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. clip — to cut
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. deal — to handle
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. wind — moving air
  18. craft — a skill

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