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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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468
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: court · straw · can · patient · bulb · band · craft · wound

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. can — to be able to
  5. craft — boats
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wound — an injury
  9. court — of law
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. band — a music group
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. can — a tin
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. can — a tin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. patient — a sick person

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