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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: object · tear · court · hand · game · craft · shower · straw

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. game — wild animals
  3. hand — help
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. shower — rain
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tear — to rip
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. court — of law
  14. object — a thing
  15. craft — boats
  16. shower — to wash
  17. object — an aim
  18. game — a match
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. object — to protest
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — a kind of play

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