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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: pound · bay · cold · wind · spell · craft

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. craft — boats
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cold — an illness
  9. spell — magic
  10. cold — not warm
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pound — a weight
  16. spell — letters
  17. craft — a skill
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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