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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. spell — magic
  3. wind — moving air
  4. suit — in cards
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wind — moving air
  11. court — of law
  12. suit — clothes
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spell — a short time
  15. craft — boats
  16. spell — letters
  17. suit — to fit
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cold — an illness

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