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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: season · bat · squash · straw · hand · lie · court · firm

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. hand — in cards
  3. court — of a king
  4. firm — a company
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. court — of law
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. firm — steady
  15. season — in sport
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. hand — help
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. squash — to crush
  23. court — for sport
  24. season — of the year

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