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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: tube · craft · stock · field · wind · spell · bulb · wound

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wind — moving air
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spell — magic
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stock — shares
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — for sport
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. tube — the underground
  14. craft — boats
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. field — a subject
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bulb — for light
  20. tube — a container
  21. stock — goods
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — letters
  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