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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bass — low music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wound — an injury
  10. craft — boats
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. kid — child
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. craft — a skill
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bass — the fish

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