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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. snap — to click
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bank — for money
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bank — for money
  9. court — of a king
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cold — not warm
  12. court — for sport
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bank — of a river
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wound — an injury
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. court — of law

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