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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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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: craft · wind · row · field · bank · content · straw · band

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bank — for money
  8. content — the amount
  9. band — a music group
  10. field — farmland
  11. bank — of a river
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. band — a ring
  16. field — a subject
  17. craft — boats
  18. field — for sport
  19. bank — for money
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wind — moving air

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