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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 120 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: present · craft · can · stem · straw · wind · lean · bat

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. present — a gift
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. can — a tin
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stem — to come from
  10. can — a tin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lean — to bend
  16. craft — a skill
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. bat — the animal
  24. craft — boats

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