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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: bay · object · cold · cap · season · court

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. object — a thing
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. cap — of ice
  7. season — in sport
  8. object — an aim
  9. court — of a king
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. season — of the year
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cap — a hat
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. object — to protest
  18. cap — a lid

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