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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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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: tear · mouse · craft · wind · face · stand · bat · coach

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. tear — to rip
  5. craft — a skill
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. stand — to bear
  11. face — to confront
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — the animal
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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