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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. object — a thing
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — for pool
  7. object — an aim
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. field — a subject
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. field — farmland
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cue — a signal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. march — the month
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. march — the month
  20. object — to protest
  21. scale — size or range
  22. field — for sport
  23. march — music
  24. scale — in music

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