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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 · ground · rash · straw · tube · kid · ruler · file

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rash — hasty
  3. kid — child
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. craft — boats
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ground — the earth
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. file — a tool
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ground — a position
  21. file — a document
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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