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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 120 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: club · straw · season · rest · court · plane · hide · kid

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kid — to tease
  3. court — for sport
  4. rest — a break
  5. club — for golf
  6. plane — a tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. club — a group
  9. court — of a king
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rest — what's left
  12. club — for dancing
  13. rest — what's left
  14. court — of law
  15. season — of the year
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. kid — child
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. hide — to keep secret

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