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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 116 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: cell · court · bore · stick · straw · rush · lie · spring

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. spring — of water
  4. court — of a king
  5. lie — to recline
  6. court — of law
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. court — for sport
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bore — to drill
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spring — the season
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. lie — an untruth

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