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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. court — of law
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pop — music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. face — to confront
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. season — in sport
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bore — to tire
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. season — of the year
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pop — soda

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