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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kid — child
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. stand — to bear
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. court — for sport
  10. bound — certain
  11. cold — an illness
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. court — of a king
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bound — obliged
  20. content — happy
  21. pass — a permit
  22. content — the amount
  23. cold — not warm
  24. kid — to tease

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