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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. season — in sport
  4. craft — a skill
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. content — the amount
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. content — happy
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. season — of the year
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rush — hurry
  20. shower — rain
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. craft — boats
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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