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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 always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spring — of water
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bound — tied together
  6. capital — money
  7. court — of law
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bound — certain
  15. court — of a king
  16. spring — the season
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wind — moving air
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. capital — a city
  24. court — for sport

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