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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. clip — to cut
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rash — hasty
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — a video
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. court — of law
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rash — a series
  22. can — to be able to
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. can — a tin

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