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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · wound · season · straw · shower · club · craft · content

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wound — an injury
  3. shower — rain
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. content — happy
  7. season — of the year
  8. craft — a skill
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. court — of a king
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. court — for sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. craft — boats
  19. shower — to wash
  20. club — for golf
  21. content — the amount
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. court — of law
  24. season — in 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