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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · firm · hide · court · last · straw

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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. hide — to keep secret
  4. firm — decided
  5. last — to go on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. last — finally
  10. firm — steady
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. firm — a company
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. last — final
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king

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