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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 water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — of law
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. row — to paddle
  6. can — a tin
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. field — farmland
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. row — a line
  16. can — to be able to
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. can — a tin
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. bear — the animal
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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