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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
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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: safe · court · net · pop · cold · trunk · mine · stand

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. pop — soda
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. court — for sport
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. court — of a king
  23. stand — to bear
  24. court — of law

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