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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mug — to rob
  6. craft — a skill
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. field — farmland
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bulb — for light
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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