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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 116 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: field · sharp · clip · straw · firm · shower · court · rule

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. field — for sport
  4. firm — decided
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. sharp — clever
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — steady
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. shower — to wash
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. shower — rain
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — a law
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rule — to rule out

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