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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: cap · craft · tear · straw · field · ruler · chip · staff

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. field — for sport
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. chip — to eat
  12. craft — a skill
  13. field — a subject
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cap — a hat
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. field — farmland
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tear — from crying

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