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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 124 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: wind · straw · hide · court · stick · cell

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — of law
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. court — for sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. court — of a king
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology

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