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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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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: wake · season · pound · straw · court · lean · chest · craft

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. court — of a king
  3. craft — a skill
  4. lean — thin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — of law
  7. season — in sport
  8. court — for sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. lean — to bend
  13. season — of the year
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. craft — boats
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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