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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. squash — the sport
  3. craft — boats
  4. drill — the tool
  5. net — in sport
  6. rash — hasty
  7. squash — to crush
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. net — for catching
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rash — a series
  14. net — after costs
  15. content — happy
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. drill — army training
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. kick — in football
  21. content — the amount
  22. drill — a practice
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. squash — the vegetable

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