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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 120 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 · spring · swing · kid · stock · firm · temple · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. swing — in golf
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. kid — to tease
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. court — of law
  10. firm — decided
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. firm — a company
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. kid — child
  15. firm — steady
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. court — of a king
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. spring — a coil
  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