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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — a hole
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. net — in sport
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. court — for sport
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — of a king
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. rush — hurry
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. net — for catching
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. net — after costs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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