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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: deal · bank · bowl · rule · cold · court · fork · bat

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. rule — government
  3. bank — for money
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. court — for sport
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rule — a law
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bank — for money
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. court — of a king
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bank — of a river
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bowl — a dish
  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