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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. court — of law
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. tear — from crying
  10. season — of the year
  11. court — for sport
  12. rush — hurry
  13. tear — from crying
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. row — to paddle
  16. season — in sport
  17. cold — not warm
  18. row — a line
  19. stand — to bear
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. arm — part of the body

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