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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: fork · wind · content · craft · pit · wake

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wake — a trail
  4. craft — a skill
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. content — the amount
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. craft — boats

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