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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: court · craft · bulb · wake · bound · coach · kid · straw

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. kid — child
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bound — certain
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. court — of a king
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. court — of law
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — for sport
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wake — a trail

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