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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. march — the month
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cold — not warm
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rule — a law
  10. court — for sport
  11. rule — government
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. march — music
  18. rash — a series
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mark — a trace
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. march — the month

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