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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — ground
  5. staff — a stick
  6. rash — a series
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. staff — employees
  9. court — of a king
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. stand — to bear
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. snap — to click
  19. land — to come down
  20. court — for sport
  21. wax — to grow
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. court — of law

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