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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. last — to go on
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. last — finally
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stem — to come from
  10. last — final
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — of law
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bank — for money
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. hand — help
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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