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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: rush · swing · craft · straw · ruler · content · trunk · court

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. court — of law
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. content — the amount
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. craft — a skill
  12. rush — hurry
  13. court — of a king
  14. content — happy
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. swing — to play on
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. court — for sport
  20. craft — boats
  21. swing — in golf
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. swing — music

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