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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.

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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: scale · clip · wind · craft · bear · pound · rock · mine

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bear — the animal
  8. scale — in music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. clip — a video
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. craft — boats
  23. mine — for digging
  24. clip — for paper

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