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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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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: court · game · pit · wake · staff · straw · kid · rest

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rest — a break
  3. staff — a stick
  4. rest — what's left
  5. kid — to tease
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. court — of a king
  9. rest — what's left
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. game — a match
  13. staff — employees
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pit — a hole
  16. court — of law
  17. staff — employees
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. court — for sport

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