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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: straw · file · board · court · spring · craft · lie · race

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. court — of a king
  3. spring — of water
  4. board — to get on
  5. court — of law
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. court — for sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. race — humankind
  10. file — a tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. race — the arms race
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spring — a coil
  20. file — a document
  21. spring — the season
  22. craft — boats
  23. race — a contest
  24. lie — to recline

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