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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: rash · nail · cold · hide · calf · season · ball · court

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rash — hasty
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. court — for sport
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. season — in sport
  12. court — of law
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. court — of a king
  16. ball — a dance
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. season — of the year
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. rash — a series
  24. cold — not warm

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