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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — not warm
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. craft — boats
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitch — completely
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chip — to eat
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chip — for betting
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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