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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. court — of a king
  8. fall — to drop
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tube — a container
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cold — an illness
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bound — obliged
  18. deal — to handle
  19. mark — a trace
  20. court — of law
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. tube — the underground
  24. court — for sport

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