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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. staff — a stick
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mate — to breed
  6. swing — to play on
  7. staff — employees
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. staff — employees
  10. game — a match
  11. mate — a partner
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kid — to tease
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mate — a friend
  17. swing — music
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. swing — in golf
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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