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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: present · mark · ground · snap · mine · date · craft · wind

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. craft — boats
  3. present — a gift
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wind — moving air
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wind — moving air
  9. snap — to click
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. present — the time now
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mark — a trace
  16. craft — a skill
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mark — a grade
  20. present — there
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. date — the fruit
  24. ground — the earth

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