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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: craft · bat · field · bound · bowl · straw · game · lean

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bat — the animal
  3. game — a match
  4. bound — certain
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. game — wild animals
  8. lean — thin
  9. field — a subject
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — obliged
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. field — for sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. craft — a skill
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. lean — to rest against

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