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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: cold · bear · craft · bound · straw · coach · rest · fork

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rest — a break
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. craft — a skill
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bound — obliged
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. craft — boats
  24. cold — the Cold War

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