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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 water is too ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spell — letters
  3. court — of law
  4. fine — high quality
  5. spell — magic
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. court — of a king
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cold — an illness
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bore — to drill
  12. fine — all right
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. ball — a dance
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. court — for sport
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. spell — a short time
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bore — to tire
  24. ball — a great time

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