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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: court · trunk · straw · mine · race · firm · kid · mug

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mug — a cup
  3. court — of law
  4. race — a contest
  5. kid — child
  6. mine — for digging
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — steady
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. kid — to tease
  15. race — humankind
  16. court — of a king
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. race — the arms race
  23. firm — decided
  24. court — for sport

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