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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. court — of a king
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. spring — a coil
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bass — the fish
  12. court — of law
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. saw — the tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. spring — the season
  23. bass — low music
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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