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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — wild animals
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pit — a hole
  11. tear — to rip
  12. craft — a skill
  13. pit — in a race
  14. game — a match
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. tear — from crying
  18. craft — a handicraft

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