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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: spring · straw · capital · ball · row · object · field · craft

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ball — a great time
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. capital — money
  10. field — farmland
  11. capital — a city
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. object — a thing
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. spring — the season
  19. row — to paddle
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. row — a line
  22. field — for sport
  23. craft — boats
  24. spring — of water

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