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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — child
  7. pop — music
  8. cap — a hat
  9. court — of law
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — of a king
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pop — soda
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. court — for sport
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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