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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: cold · bound · cue · kid · court · march · cap · wind

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bound — certain
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cue — a hint
  5. kid — child
  6. court — of a king
  7. cap — a lid
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bound — tied together
  12. march — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cue — for pool
  16. march — the month
  17. court — for sport
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — of law
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cap — a hat

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