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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. court — of a king
  4. drill — a practice
  5. season — in sport
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. tube — the underground
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. drill — army training
  12. bark — to shout
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — the tool
  16. tube — a container
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. season — of the year
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. safe — out of danger

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