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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: pitch · staff · wind · plane · hand · straw · temple · craft

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. staff — employees
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. craft — a skill
  7. plane — a tool
  8. staff — employees
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. hand — help
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. craft — boats
  15. staff — a stick
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — completely
  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