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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 · chest · wound · present · bowl · straw · kick · sharp

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. kick — in football
  14. sharp — clever
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. present — there
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. present — the time now
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. craft — a skill
  23. present — a gift
  24. wound — an injury

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