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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 · pop · mark · bat · wind · swing · trunk · rule

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rule — a law
  8. pop — to visit
  9. mark — a trace
  10. swing — music
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pop — music
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mark — a grade
  20. rule — government
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — soda
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. swing — to play on

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