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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. club — for dancing
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bank — for money
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bear — the animal
  12. club — for golf
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. court — of law
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stand — to bear
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bank — for money
  19. court — of a king
  20. club — a group
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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