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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: stand · court · pitcher · squash · wave · wound · straw · cold

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. stand — to bear
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. court — of law
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. squash — to crush
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wound — an injury
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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