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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
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: content · wound · straw · face · mark · craft · hand · court

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. hand — in cards
  4. content — the amount
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. content — happy
  12. face — to confront
  13. hand — help
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. face — to point toward
  20. craft — a skill
  21. mark — a trace
  22. craft — boats
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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