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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bound — certain
  3. squash — the sport
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mark — a trace
  7. craft — boats
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bound — obliged
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ball — a great time
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. craft — a skill
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mark — a grade

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