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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · present · cell · deal · game · court

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. 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. deal — to handle
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — in biology
  4. present — there
  5. present — the time now
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. court — for sport
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. court — of a king
  17. game — a match
  18. 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