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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: fine · craft · club · dip · land · shower · straw · fall

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — a group
  4. land — ground
  5. fine — all right
  6. club — for golf
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fine — high quality
  10. craft — a skill
  11. shower — to wash
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. club — for dancing
  15. land — a country
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. shower — rain
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. land — to come down
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — 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