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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: toast · cap · straw · craft · hand · clip · cold · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. cap — a lid
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. hand — help
  7. clip — to cut
  8. craft — boats
  9. cold — not warm
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cap — of ice
  12. clip — for paper
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. present — there
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cold — an illness
  17. clip — a video
  18. craft — a skill
  19. hand — in cards
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. cap — a hat
  22. toast — bread
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — the Cold War

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