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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: bore · chair · saw · current · spring · clip · straw · craft

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bore — to tire
  6. current — electric
  7. clip — a video
  8. spring — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. spring — the season
  11. current — of water
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. clip — to cut
  17. saw — the tool
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. bore — to drill
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. spring — a coil

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