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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. net — for catching
  3. march — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — a division
  6. court — of a king
  7. net — in sport
  8. court — for sport
  9. bound — certain
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. march — the month
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mug — a face
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bound — tied together
  17. net — after costs
  18. march — the month
  19. cue — a signal
  20. court — of law
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mug — a cup
  23. mug — to rob
  24. cue — a hint

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