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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: pound · craft · wake · pop · wound · fan · spring · saw

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. craft — boats
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pop — music
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pop — soda
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spring — the season
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — of water
  17. craft — a skill
  18. pop — to visit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pound — a weight

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