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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. mate — a partner
  5. deal — to handle
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. key — in music
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mate — to breed
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. key — the most important part
  22. craft — a skill
  23. key — for a lock
  24. rush — hurry

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