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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: mine · craft · pitcher · bass · game · straw · spell · face

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. game — wild animals
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bass — low music
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. game — a match
  11. face — to confront
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. face — part of the head
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. craft — boats
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. bass — the fish
  22. face — to point toward
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bass — the instrument

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