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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. march — the month
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. court — of a king
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. march — music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cold — an illness
  24. court — for sport

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