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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. land — to come down
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — a weight
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. court — for sport
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. land — a country
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. land — ground
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. court — of law
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mouse — for a computer

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