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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. ball — a dance
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. court — of law
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cold — not warm
  14. branch — a division
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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