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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: mark · wound · wind · date · season · field · craft · snap

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mark — a grade
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. craft — boats
  11. field — a subject
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. season — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — for sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to click
  20. mark — a trace
  21. date — the fruit
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. season — of the year
  24. field — farmland

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