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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: pitcher · court · rash · trunk · fine · cabinet · season · cold

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. court — of a king
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. fine — all right
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rash — hasty
  16. court — for sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cold — not warm
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. rash — a series
  24. pitcher — a jug

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