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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: craft · content · straw · temple · wind · net · bore · scale

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. content — happy
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. craft — a skill
  7. content — the amount
  8. bore — to tire
  9. net — for catching
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bore — to drill
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. scale — in music
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. scale — size or range
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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