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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spring — of water
  4. chair — a leader
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wound — an injury
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. craft — boats
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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