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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bear — the animal
  3. club — for golf
  4. court — of a king
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. last — final
  10. club — for dancing
  11. last — to go on
  12. bear — the animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rest — what's left
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. club — a group
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — an illness
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. rest — a break

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