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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — an illness
  3. court — of law
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mark — a trace
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hand — in cards
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. court — for sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitch — completely
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cap — a hat
  22. hand — help
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. date — the fruit

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