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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 120 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. court — of law
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. snap — to click
  8. cap — a lid
  9. field — a subject
  10. court — for sport
  11. cap — of ice
  12. field — for sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. field — farmland
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cap — a hat
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. cold — the Cold War

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