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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: wind · craft · wound · charge · rock · squash · bear · bark

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. charge — a price
  4. wind — moving air
  5. craft — a skill
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. craft — boats
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. charge — electricity
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rock — music
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. charge — in control
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wound — an injury

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