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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cap — of ice
  5. season — of the year
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. roll — a list
  8. court — of law
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. roll — a cake
  11. season — in sport
  12. rash — a series
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cold — not warm
  16. chip — to eat
  17. court — for sport
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cap — a lid
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pit — a hole
  22. chip — for betting
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. rash — hasty

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