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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: craft · wind · shower · fork · bay · dip · spring · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fork — in a road
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cold — an illness
  6. shower — rain
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. craft — boats
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. shower — to wash
  18. dip — to sink
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. spring — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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