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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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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: fan · pass · cold · wound · ball · board · mug · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mug — to rob
  6. ball — a dance
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — a face
  12. pass — a permit
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. board — a committee
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ball — a great time
  20. court — for sport
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. court — of a king
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — the Cold War

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