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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: rash · craft · bound · wind · game · straw · kick · prune

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rash — a series
  6. bound — certain
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wind — moving air
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. game — a match
  11. kick — in football
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — boats
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bound — tied together
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bound — obliged

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