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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 · pop · bay · straw · court · hand · staff · pitcher

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — for sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. staff — employees
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hand — help
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  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