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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stem — to come from
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. scale — in music
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. scale — size or range
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. capital — a city
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — money
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. deal — to handle
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. nail — for a hammer

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