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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: court · hand · mug · can · straw · root · pop · object

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. object — an aim
  3. hand — help
  4. pop — music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. root — of a plant
  10. can — a tin
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mug — a cup
  14. object — to protest
  15. pop — soda
  16. mug — a face
  17. court — of law
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. can — to be able to
  20. root — the cause
  21. can — a tin
  22. root — of a word
  23. object — a thing
  24. mug — to rob

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