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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: cold · bat · pass · leaves · craft · court · can · bound

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. court — of a king
  8. can — a tin
  9. court — for sport
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. can — a tin
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. craft — a skill
  16. can — to be able to
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bound — certain
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bound — obliged

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