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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: rush · straw · squash · court · club · wind · firm · content

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. firm — decided
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — to crush
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — moving air
  7. court — for sport
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. court — of law
  10. firm — steady
  11. club — for dancing
  12. rush — hurry
  13. club — a group
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. firm — a company
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wind — moving air
  19. court — of a king
  20. club — for golf
  21. content — the amount
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rush — a thrill

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