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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — an aim
  8. drill — the tool
  9. object — to protest
  10. wound — an injury
  11. band — a ring
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. craft — a skill
  20. drill — army training
  21. band — a music group
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bat — the animal
  24. band — a rubber band

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