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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. craft — boats
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cell — a phone
  7. season — of the year
  8. cell — in biology
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spring — the season
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spring — of water
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. craft — a skill
  22. season — in sport
  23. spring — a coil
  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