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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · ball · hand · kick · chair · saw · craft · degree

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. saw — the tool
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ball — a dance
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. degree — from a university
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. hand — help
  16. craft — boats
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. craft — a skill
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kick — in football

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