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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fall · bear · mine · craft · hand · wound · face · squash

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fall — to drop
  11. craft — boats
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fall — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bear — the animal
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — for digging
  21. hand — help
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. hand — in cards

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