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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. suit — in cards
  3. board — a committee
  4. suit — clothes
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. court — for sport
  9. mark — a trace
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cold — an illness
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. mark — a grade
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. row — a quarrel

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