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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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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. club — for dancing
  3. staff — employees
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. club — for golf
  7. court — of law
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cap — a lid
  10. staff — a stick
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — of ice
  14. staff — employees
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. club — a group
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. cold — an illness
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. court — of a king
  24. cold — the Cold War

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