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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. last — finally
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. hand — in cards
  7. last — final
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. last — to go on
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. branch — a division
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hand — help
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. fall — the season
  22. court — of a king
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. branch — of a tree

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