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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lean — thin
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kid — child
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. craft — a skill

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