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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tube — a container
  3. court — of a king
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. game — a match
  10. craft — a skill
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. court — for sport
  15. lean — to bend
  16. court — of law
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. game — wild animals
  21. tube — the underground
  22. lean — thin
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. straw — a straw man

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