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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 120 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: rest · mine · bay · ground · court · kid · leaves · cold

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ground — the earth
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mine — for digging
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. ground — a position
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. rest — a break
  18. cold — an illness
  19. court — for sport
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cold — the Cold War

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