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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. court — of law
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cap — of ice
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cap — a lid
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cold — an illness

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