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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: kid · stand · spring · court · straw · ball · last · hand

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. last — finally
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — of water
  5. court — of a king
  6. last — to go on
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — help
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ball — a great time
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. court — of law
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stand — to bear
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. last — final
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. court — for sport
  24. kid — to tease

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