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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fork — in a road
  7. capital — a city
  8. craft — a skill
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wound — an injury
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. craft — boats
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — money
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. fork — a garden tool

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