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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for golf
  5. cold — not warm
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hand — help
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. club — for dancing
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. staff — a stick
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. staff — employees
  23. cap — a hat
  24. craft — boats

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