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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. track — a song
  3. court — for sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — not warm
  7. track — to keep track
  8. last — to go on
  9. object — an aim
  10. last — finally
  11. court — of a king
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. branch — a division
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. last — final
  18. track — a path
  19. object — a thing
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. object — to protest
  23. court — of law
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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