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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 · straw · drill · jam · spring · craft · pitcher · present

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. present — a gift
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. craft — a skill
  5. present — the time now
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — a coil
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. drill — a practice
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. present — there

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