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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · mine · pass · jam · season · game · court

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. court — of a king
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. game — a match
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. season — of the year
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. craft — a skill
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. craft — boats
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. court — for sport
  16. pass — a permit
  17. season — in sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — belonging to me

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