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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: last · straw · season · root · date · firm · court · bass

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. court — for sport
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. root — of a word
  5. court — of a king
  6. season — in sport
  7. last — to go on
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. firm — decided
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. firm — a company
  12. date — the fruit
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bass — low music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. last — finally
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. last — final
  20. season — of the year
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bass — the fish
  23. root — the cause
  24. court — of law

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