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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: craft · wind · ground · straw · date · board · branch · foot

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. ground — a position
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. craft — a skill
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. craft — boats
  7. ground — the earth
  8. foot — a measure
  9. board — a committee
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wind — moving air
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. board — to get on
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. ground — crushed
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. date — the fruit
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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