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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. mark — a grade
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. shower — rain
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. suit — clothes
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cell — a phone
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. craft — boats
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. track — to keep track
  16. cell — in biology
  17. shower — to wash
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mark — a trace
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. hand — help
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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