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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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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: mug · tear · leaves · straw · craft · chest · chair · race

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tear — from crying
  5. race — the arms race
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. chest — of your body
  12. craft — a skill
  13. chair — a leader
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. race — humankind
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mug — a face
  19. craft — boats
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chest — a box
  22. mug — a cup
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. race — a contest

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