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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — of a king
  7. row — a line
  8. court — of law
  9. root — the cause
  10. court — for sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. board — to get on
  13. root — of a plant
  14. march — music
  15. row — to paddle
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. march — the month
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. root — of a word
  20. staff — a stick
  21. board — a committee
  22. vault — a safe
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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