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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. last — final
  3. rock — a stone
  4. staff — employees
  5. last — finally
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spring — of water
  10. drill — army training
  11. staff — a stick
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — music
  16. staff — employees
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spring — the season
  19. court — for sport
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. cold — an illness
  22. court — of a king
  23. last — to go on
  24. cold — the Cold War

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