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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — to get on
  5. court — of law
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. kid — child
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — not warm
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. court — of a king
  20. kid — to tease
  21. drill — army training
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. court — for sport

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