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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: present · mark · court · hand · straw · game · bay · pit

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. game — a match
  4. present — a gift
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pit — in a race
  7. court — for sport
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. present — the time now
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mark — a grade
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. mark — a trace
  19. present — there
  20. game — wild animals
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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