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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: race · cold · spring · can · snap · straw · craft · present

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. spring — a coil
  6. craft — boats
  7. spring — of water
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. can — a tin
  10. present — there
  11. race — humankind
  12. present — a gift
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — an illness
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spring — the season
  17. race — a contest
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. present — the time now
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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