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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cell — in biology
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fork — in a road
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. chest — a box
  14. craft — boats
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bore — to tire
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. craft — a skill

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