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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cue — a signal
  4. stand — to bear
  5. court — for sport
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. shower — rain
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. court — of a king
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. court — of law
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bound — certain
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — obliged
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. row — to paddle

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