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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: game · degree · rule · fan · kid · craft · leaves · straw

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. rule — government
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. degree — from a university
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. kid — to tease
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. game — wild animals
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. kid — child
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. craft — a skill
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rule — a law
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. degree — temperature
  20. game — a match
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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