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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: fine · court · lie · cold · chest · hide · bowl · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of law
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — all right
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. spring — of water
  17. lie — to recline
  18. court — for sport
  19. chest — a box
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. court — of a king
  22. chest — of your body
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fine — high quality

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