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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: leaves · land · chair · stick · craft · foot · wind · face

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. craft — a skill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. land — a country
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. foot — a measure
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. face — to point toward
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. face — to confront
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. craft — boats
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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