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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · staff · craft · wind · stock · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — employees
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. staff — employees
  6. stock — shares
  7. craft — boats
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stock — goods
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wind — moving air
  13. staff — a stick
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. craft — a skill
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wind — to turn a key

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