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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. court — of a king
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. court — of law
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. season — of the year
  11. row — a line
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. season — in sport
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. row — to paddle
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. court — for sport
  19. last — final
  20. cold — not warm
  21. last — to go on
  22. pass — a permit
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. last — finally

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