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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: cabinet · ball · spring · bat · rock · staff · straw · craft

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spring — of water
  4. craft — boats
  5. staff — employees
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rock — music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. spring — the season
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. staff — employees
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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