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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. club — for dancing
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — an illness
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. club — for golf
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. club — a group
  18. craft — boats
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. face — to confront
  22. craft — a skill
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. face — to point toward

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