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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: craft · straw · wake · band · mark · mine · court · swing

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mine — for digging
  3. band — a music group
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. craft — a skill
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. craft — boats
  11. band — a ring
  12. swing — music
  13. court — of a king
  14. mark — a trace
  15. court — for sport
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. court — of law
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wake — a trail
  23. mark — a grade
  24. craft — a handicraft

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