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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. band — a ring
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — for sport
  7. charge — in control
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. charge — a price
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. band — a music group
  13. sharp — clever
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. squash — the sport
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. court — of law
  21. squash — to crush
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. charge — electricity
  24. cap — a hat

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