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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cell — in biology
  4. court — of a king
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. mug — a face
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. field — farmland
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. mug — a cup
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. court — for sport
  20. rush — hurry
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of law
  24. cold — an illness

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