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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: tear · fall · plane · craft · mug · fork · saw · wind

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. mug — to rob
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — the season
  8. mug — a face
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fork — in a road
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — a tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mug — a cup

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