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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  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 — the Cold War
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. court — of a king
  4. march — music
  5. can — a tin
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a dance
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. branch — a division
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — of law
  18. degree — temperature
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cold — not warm
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. ball — a great time
  23. mouse — for a computer
  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