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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. content — the amount
  9. court — for sport
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stand — to bear
  13. court — of a king
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bound — obliged
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. content — happy
  20. roll — a list
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cold — not warm
  24. court — of law

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