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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. net — for catching
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. net — after costs
  9. game — a match
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. game — wild animals
  12. squash — to crush
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. net — in sport
  16. squash — the sport
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. craft — a skill
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — dry grass

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