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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — soda
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pit — a hole
  9. court — for sport
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pop — music
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cabinet — ministers

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