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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: straw · suit · drill · court · stand · temple · deal · cold

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. deal — to handle
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. suit — to fit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. drill — the tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. suit — in cards
  14. cold — not warm
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. suit — clothes
  19. stand — to bear
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. court — for sport
  24. stand — on your feet

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