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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: hand · chest · craft · bowl · lean · straw · cold · safe

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chest — a box
  5. craft — a skill
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. lean — thin
  8. hand — in cards
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. craft — boats
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. straw — a straw man

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