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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. court — of law
  3. roll — a cake
  4. court — of a king
  5. bank — for money
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bank — of a river
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. fork — in a road
  14. roll — a list
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. court — for sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bank — for money
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. lash — an eyelash

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