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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: kid · mine · bass · pop · straw · craft · bore · tear

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pop — to visit
  6. craft — boats
  7. pop — soda
  8. bore — to tire
  9. kid — child
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pop — music
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bass — low music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bore — to drill
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. craft — a skill
  23. tear — from crying
  24. straw — a straw man

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