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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: club · chair · board · pitch · craft · straw · vault · shower

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. club — for golf
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. club — for dancing
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. chair — a leader
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. craft — boats
  10. vault — a safe
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. shower — to wash
  17. craft — a skill
  18. pitch — completely
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. club — a group
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. straw — dry grass

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