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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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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. court — of a king
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. ball — a dance
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cue — a signal
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — for sport
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. court — of law
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. sharp — clever
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cue — a hint

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