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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. scale — size or range
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. court — of a king
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. rash — a series
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — of law
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — for sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. object — a thing
  20. scale — in music
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — to protest
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bear — the animal

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