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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: wound · staff · hand · straw · spring · court · temple · spell

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — the season
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spring — of water
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. spell — magic
  9. wound — an injury
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. hand — help
  12. staff — employees
  13. court — of a king
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — in cards
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spell — letters
  24. spring — a coil

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