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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: wake · pitcher · cue · straw · race · wind · craft · spring

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. spring — of water
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. craft — a skill
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wake — a trail
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cue — for pool
  11. race — humankind
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cue — a hint
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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