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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: shower · kid · bowl · craft · snap · straw · bass · ruler

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. craft — a skill
  4. kid — child
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bass — the fish
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. snap — to click
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. shower — rain
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bass — low music
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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