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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lie — to recline
  6. net — after costs
  7. present — a gift
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. court — of a king
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pit — a hole
  14. net — in sport
  15. cap — a lid
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pit — in a race
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cold — not warm
  21. court — for sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. present — the time now
  24. court — of law

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