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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 120 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: wind · bowl · nail · rest · perch · rule · rush · craft

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rule — a law
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. craft — a skill
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rest — a break
  18. rule — government
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a handicraft

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