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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: bound · court · wind · coach · craft · net

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bound — certain
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. court — of a king
  5. craft — a skill
  6. court — for sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. net — after costs
  10. court — of law
  11. net — in sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. craft — boats
  15. net — for catching
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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