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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. current — happening now
  5. present — there
  6. capital — a city
  7. court — of a king
  8. present — a gift
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. present — the time now
  11. snap — to click
  12. court — for sport
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. current — electric
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. current — of water
  19. craft — a skill
  20. court — of law
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. game — wild animals
  23. craft — boats
  24. capital — money

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