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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: craft · toast · stick · bowl · date · kid · rash · hand

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rash — hasty
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. craft — boats
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. rash — a series
  15. kid — child
  16. hand — help
  17. craft — a skill
  18. date — the fruit
  19. kid — to tease
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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