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

Word bank: drill · staff · ball · straw · foot · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. drill — army training
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. ball — a dance
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. staff — employees
  8. court — of a king
  9. staff — a stick
  10. drill — the tool
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. drill — a practice
  17. staff — employees
  18. court — of law

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