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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spell — letters
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. spell — magic
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bass — low music
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bass — the fish
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. court — of law
  24. pitch — a sports field

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