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

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. saw — the tool
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cap — a hat
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cap — of ice
  14. saw — the tool
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. craft — boats
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. leaves — to go away

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