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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. date — the fruit
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. dip — to sink
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. roll — a cake
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. roll — a list
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mark — a grade
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. shower — to wash
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. shower — rain
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wound — an injury

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