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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: sharp · cold · staff · trunk · craft · ground · cabinet · net

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. net — for catching
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. ground — a position
  10. staff — a stick
  11. net — in sport
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. ground — the earth
  14. net — after costs
  15. staff — employees
  16. cold — an illness
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. staff — employees
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cold — not warm

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