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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: snap · dip · straw · cold · calf · arm · pitcher · craft

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. snap — to click
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. craft — boats
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. dip — to sink
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cold — an illness
  22. craft — a skill
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. calf — of the leg

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