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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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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: mine · field · capital · wind · dip · bank · craft · wound

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. field — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — a city
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wound — an injury
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bank — for money
  12. field — a subject
  13. capital — money
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — to sink
  20. mine — for digging
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. field — farmland
  24. craft — boats

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