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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. charge — electricity
  3. craft — boats
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — to shout
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — a price
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit

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