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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: court · stand · wind · straw · tube · safe · cap · spring

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spring — of water
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. court — of law
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. cap — a lid
  7. court — of a king
  8. cap — a hat
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. cap — of ice
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — the underground
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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