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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 116 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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. craft — a skill
  3. spell — a short time
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spell — magic
  11. hand — help
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. court — of a king
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. craft — boats
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. spell — letters
  20. present — there
  21. court — of law
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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