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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spring — of water
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. pop — music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. court — of law
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — the season
  15. bound — certain
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. court — for sport
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — for pool
  21. pop — soda
  22. bound — tied together
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pop — to visit

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