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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 116 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 · rush · pop · mine · spring · wake · craft · row

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spring — a coil
  3. craft — a skill
  4. pop — to visit
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mine — for digging
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pop — music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wake — a trail
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pop — soda
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — a line
  23. craft — boats
  24. row — to paddle

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