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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: craft · bay · wind · rule · field · leaves · march · cold

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. rule — a law
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. march — music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. field — for sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. craft — boats
  13. rule — government
  14. craft — a skill
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — a subject
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. march — the month
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. field — farmland
  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