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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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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: staff · drill · craft · net · wind · cold · nail · bear

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bear — the animal
  5. staff — employees
  6. drill — the tool
  7. staff — a stick
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. net — after costs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — in sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. net — for catching
  16. craft — a skill
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — army training
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cold — an illness

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