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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: staff · ball · lean · straw · court · object · shower · mine

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ball — a dance
  4. staff — a stick
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — an aim
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. staff — employees
  9. shower — rain
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. court — for sport
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. shower — to wash
  15. lean — thin
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. object — to protest
  19. court — of a king
  20. ball — a great time
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. staff — employees
  23. court — of law
  24. lean — to bend

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