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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: craft · wake · trunk · wind · lean · game · cold · can

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — thin
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. can — a tin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. game — a match
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a skill
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cold — an illness
  19. can — a tin
  20. wake — a trail
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. can — to be able to
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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