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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cap — a lid
  6. court — of law
  7. rash — a series
  8. fine — high quality
  9. mark — a trace
  10. fine — all right
  11. court — for sport
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — of a king
  14. rash — hasty
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mark — a grade
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. cap — of ice

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