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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. last — to go on
  3. cell — in biology
  4. ball — a dance
  5. last — final
  6. court — of a king
  7. ball — a great time
  8. court — of law
  9. last — finally
  10. cell — a phone
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. court — for sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. spell — magic
  24. kick — in football

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