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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: stand · spring · court · bass · march · wake · row · straw

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wake — a trail
  3. court — of law
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. court — of a king
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. spring — of water
  9. court — for sport
  10. march — the month
  11. row — to paddle
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. bass — low music
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. row — a line
  18. spring — the season
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. stand — on your feet

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