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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. capital — money
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cap — a hat
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — a city
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. press — newspapers
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. craft — boats
  18. cap — a lid
  19. lean — to bend
  20. press — a publisher
  21. lean — thin
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. press — to push

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