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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. drill — a practice
  3. stand — to bear
  4. court — for sport
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. court — of law
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pound — a weight
  10. rock — music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — not warm
  14. court — of a king
  15. rock — a stone
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — army training
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. coach — a trainer

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