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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: craft · spell · clip · club · sharp · straw · season · bat

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. sharp — clever
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. club — for golf
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. clip — to cut
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. club — a group
  18. craft — boats
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. season — in sport
  24. club — for dancing

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