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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 · content · chip · coach · shower · club · straw · tear

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. content — happy
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. craft — a skill
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chip — for betting
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. club — for golf
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. chip — to eat
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. craft — boats
  21. shower — rain
  22. content — the amount
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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