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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. court — for sport
  7. drill — a practice
  8. court — of a king
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. cell — a phone
  14. craft — a skill
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. craft — boats
  18. drill — army training
  19. march — music
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. court — of law

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