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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. present — there
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. craft — boats
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. spell — magic
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. spell — letters
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. present — a gift
  16. hand — in cards
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hand — help
  19. present — the time now
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bat — for baseball

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