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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — the season
  3. shower — to wash
  4. court — of a king
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. shower — rain
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chair — a leader
  13. court — of law
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. spring — of water
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. safe — out of danger

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