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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. court — of law
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cue — a signal
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cue — for pool
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. court — of a king
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. tear — to rip
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wind — moving air

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