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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. row — to paddle
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spring — of water
  7. stand — to bear
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bass — low music
  11. craft — a skill
  12. spring — the season
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mine — for digging
  21. craft — boats
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to click
  24. row — a line

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