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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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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: fan · straw · rock · rash · clip · present · court · pitcher

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. court — for sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — a series
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — the time now
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. present — there
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. present — a gift
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — music
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. court — of a king
  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