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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: fan · bore · craft · straw · saw · ground · arm · march

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. march — the month
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bore — to tire
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. saw — the tool
  10. march — music
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ground — a position
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. craft — a skill
  17. saw — the tool
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bore — to drill
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. march — the month

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