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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. court — of a king
  5. rash — a series
  6. court — of law
  7. scale — size or range
  8. present — there
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cap — a lid
  11. present — a gift
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. present — the time now
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cold — not warm
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. scale — in music
  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