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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. face — to point toward
  4. court — of a king
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. root — of a word
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of law
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wound — an injury
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. stand — to bear
  22. root — the cause
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. root — of a plant

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