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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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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: chip · land · straw · cold · court · rest · bowl · racket

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. chip — to eat
  5. court — of law
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. land — a country
  10. court — of a king
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. land — to come down
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. land — ground
  18. chip — for betting
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rest — what's left
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rest — a break

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