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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: clip · kid · net · sharp · dip · straw · face · craft

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. craft — a skill
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. net — for catching
  5. clip — to cut
  6. net — in sport
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kid — to tease
  9. clip — a video
  10. face — to confront
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. face — part of the head
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. net — after costs
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. face — to point toward
  22. kid — child
  23. sharp — clever
  24. dip — to sink

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