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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chair · tear · craft · straw · last · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tear — from crying
  3. craft — boats
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. craft — a skill
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. last — to go on
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. last — final
  18. mine — an explosive

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