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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: pop · saw · court · straw · rash · cell · fork · hide

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. court — of law
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pop — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pop — to visit
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. court — for sport
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pop — soda
  23. fork — in a road
  24. rash — a series

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