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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mug · court · pitcher · present · cold · key · charge · perch

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mug — a cup
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — not warm
  7. charge — a price
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. charge — electricity
  12. perch — the fish
  13. present — there
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. court — for sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. court — of law
  19. present — the time now
  20. mug — to rob
  21. present — a gift
  22. mug — a face
  23. charge — in control
  24. court — of a king

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