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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wind — moving air
  4. season — of the year
  5. stand — to bear
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. spell — magic
  9. hand — help
  10. shower — to wash
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. shower — rain
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — in sport
  17. spell — letters
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. craft — a skill
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. craft — boats
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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