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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kick — in football
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. kid — child
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. craft — a skill
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. cell — a phone

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