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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. court — of a king
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. kid — child
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. key — in music
  12. court — for sport
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. land — to come down
  17. court — of law
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. land — a country
  22. kid — to tease
  23. key — the most important part
  24. stand — to bear

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