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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: foot · straw · staff · court · wave · stock · shower · fork

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. staff — a stick
  4. shower — rain
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. staff — employees
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. foot — a measure
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stock — goods
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stock — shares
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. staff — employees
  23. fork — in a road
  24. foot — the bottom

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