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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. court — for sport
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. court — of a king
  6. spring — of water
  7. court — of law
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rush — hurry
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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