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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: spring · hand · arm · court · bat · stand · rest · bay

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. hand — in cards
  4. court — of law
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. court — for sport
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rest — a break
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. court — of a king
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — to bear
  22. hand — help
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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