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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 116 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. last — final
  3. bound — obliged
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. court — for sport
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wax — to grow
  12. court — of law
  13. row — a line
  14. bound — certain
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. last — finally
  17. court — of a king
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. last — to go on
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. row — to paddle
  22. craft — a skill
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. craft — boats

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