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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: court · temple · mouse · bound · date · pop · spring · straw

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spring — a coil
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. court — of a king
  7. bound — certain
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spring — of water
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. court — of law
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spring — the season
  16. pop — music
  17. bound — obliged
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. court — for sport
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pop — to visit
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pop — soda

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