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

Word bank: straw · craft · chest · snap · chair · shower

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. shower — rain
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. chest — a box
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chest — of your body
  12. craft — boats
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. shower — to wash
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. craft — a skill

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