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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: mate · cold · lash · straw · craft · fall · rule · nail

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fall — the season
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. craft — boats
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rule — a law
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rule — government
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fall — to drop
  24. nail — on a finger

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