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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 120 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: hand · band · lash · chair · fall · bound · court · straw

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bound — obliged
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fall — the season
  6. chair — a leader
  7. court — of law
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. band — a music group
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. band — a ring
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bound — certain
  16. hand — help
  17. court — of a king
  18. bound — tied together
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fall — to drop
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fall — to drop

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