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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. court — of a king
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bore — to drill
  7. court — of law
  8. pit — in a race
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bank — for money
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. scale — in music
  14. net — for catching
  15. bank — of a river
  16. court — for sport
  17. bank — for money
  18. net — in sport
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cold — not warm

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