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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: firm · suit · court · rest · cold · kid · spring · wake

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. 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. firm — decided
  2. spring — of water
  3. court — of a king
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. rest — a break
  7. suit — clothes
  8. kid — to tease
  9. suit — to fit
  10. firm — a company
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. court — for sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. firm — steady
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spring — the season
  24. 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