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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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. ball — a great time
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. court — of law
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. court — for sport
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. court — of a king
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cold — not warm
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. perch — the fish
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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