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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: season · kid · craft · coach · bound · tear · saw · game

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. saw — the tool
  3. craft — boats
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kid — child
  16. game — a match
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. craft — a skill
  23. game — wild animals
  24. saw — the tool

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