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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: shower · firm · straw · court · safe · pop · bear · field

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. court — of a king
  5. pop — soda
  6. firm — steady
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pop — to visit
  13. firm — decided
  14. shower — rain
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. field — for sport
  17. pop — music
  18. bear — the animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. firm — a company
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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