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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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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: straw · saw · racket · bear · court · squash · snap · firm

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — a company
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. snap — to click
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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