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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.

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: season · saw · chip · drill · shower · wind · craft · file

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. craft — boats
  3. saw — the tool
  4. shower — to wash
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — army training
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — of the year
  12. chip — to eat
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — the tool
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. file — a document

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