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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — rain
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. club — a group
  5. craft — boats
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bound — tied together
  10. craft — a skill
  11. stock — goods
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. club — for dancing
  14. spring — a coil
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. shower — to wash
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stock — shares
  22. club — for golf
  23. bound — certain
  24. spring — of water

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