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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: cold · foot · craft · fine · straw · bay · game · date

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. craft — boats
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. foot — a measure
  13. game — a match
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. craft — a skill
  16. cold — not warm
  17. date — the fruit
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. cold — an illness
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. game — wild animals

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