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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. saw — the tool
  3. court — of a king
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cold — an illness
  6. saw — the tool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bulb — for light
  10. court — of law
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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