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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.

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: fan · court · ground · safe · cold · row · lie · scale

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. court — of a king
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. court — for sport
  10. ground — crushed
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. scale — in music
  15. row — a line
  16. court — of law
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — not warm
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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