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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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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: pit · tube · mark · pound · straw · craft · ground · board

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pound — a weight
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. board — to get on
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. tube — a container
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. pit — in a race
  16. board — a committee
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. craft — a skill
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. straw — dry grass

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