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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: lean · squash · spring · trunk · pit · craft · straw · nail

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a hole
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. spring — a coil
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. craft — a skill
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. lean — thin
  19. spring — of water
  20. squash — to crush
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spring — the season

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