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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stand — to bear
  6. spell — magic
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spell — letters
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. craft — boats
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. mark — a grade
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mark — a trace
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stand — for spectators

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