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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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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: court · lean · bay · nail · kid · bowl · cold · pound

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. court — of a king
  5. lean — thin
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cold — not warm
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. lean — to bend

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