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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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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 · pound · cold · mouse · vault · pass · wake · content

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wake — a trail
  3. court — of law
  4. content — happy
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. court — of a king
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pass — a permit
  14. court — for sport
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. content — the amount

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