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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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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: craft · bore · chair · cell · wind · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — in biology
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. chair — a leader
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — to tire

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