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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 116 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: staff · cap · hide · key · fork · saw · craft · straw

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. key — for a lock
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. staff — a stick
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. staff — employees
  10. key — the most important part
  11. staff — employees
  12. cap — of ice
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cap — a lid
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. key — in music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cap — a hat
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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