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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. craft — a skill
  3. lean — to bend
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rush — hurry
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. lean — thin
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. net — after costs
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. craft — boats
  17. net — in sport
  18. kick — in football
  19. clip — a video
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. net — for catching
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. clip — for paper

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