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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mug — a face
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — a box
  8. mug — a cup
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. court — of law
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chest — of your body
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mug — to rob
  18. court — for sport
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. mate — to breed

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