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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: wind · lie · craft · wound · current · fall · club · face

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. current — of water
  3. craft — a skill
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fall — the season
  8. current — happening now
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. current — electric
  15. club — a group
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. face — to confront
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. club — for dancing
  21. face — part of the head
  22. lie — to recline
  23. craft — boats
  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