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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. cold — an illness
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — steady
  9. game — wild animals
  10. dip — to sink
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. firm — decided
  13. court — of a king
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — to bear
  17. cold — not warm
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. game — a match
  24. date — the fruit

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