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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. craft — boats
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. net — for catching
  5. shower — to wash
  6. craft — a skill
  7. court — for sport
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. net — in sport
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — the amount
  13. chair — a leader
  14. court — of a king
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. shower — rain
  20. content — happy
  21. net — after costs
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. straw — dry grass

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