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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 · cell · content · cap · wind · fork · tear · bound

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. tear — from crying
  6. craft — boats
  7. cell — a phone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. craft — a skill
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fork — in a road
  19. tear — from crying
  20. content — the amount
  21. cap — of ice
  22. content — happy
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cell — in biology

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