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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · craft · kick · tear · court · straw

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. shower — rain
  3. court — of a king
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. tear — to rip
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tear — from crying
  9. craft — boats
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. court — of law
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kick — in football
  14. craft — a skill
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — to wash
  18. 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