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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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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: craft · trunk · wind · wake · mine · track · perch · straw

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. 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. track — to keep track
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. track — a path
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wind — moving air
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. track — a song
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. craft — boats
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wake — a trail
  24. 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