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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. clip — to cut
  5. deal — to handle
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. land — ground
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. land — a country
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. craft — a skill
  19. clip — a video
  20. land — to come down
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. deal — an agreement

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