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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: bowl · spell · wind · degree · bound · craft · mark · mine

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. degree — from a university
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spell — letters
  5. craft — boats
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mark — a trace
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bound — certain
  18. spell — magic
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mine — for digging
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bound — tied together

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