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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. court — of law
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. field — a subject
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. field — for sport
  13. swing — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. field — farmland
  19. court — for sport
  20. rash — hasty
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rash — a series

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