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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: cold · sharp · court · firm · arm · mouse · shower · staff

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. court — of law
  3. firm — steady
  4. cold — an illness
  5. firm — decided
  6. staff — a stick
  7. court — of a king
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. sharp — clever
  12. shower — to wash
  13. staff — employees
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. firm — a company
  17. court — for sport
  18. shower — rain
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. staff — employees

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