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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: wind · court · march · present · bear · lie · cold · rock

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. present — the time now
  4. march — the month
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. court — for sport
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. present — a gift
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of law
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lie — to recline
  16. rock — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. present — there
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. court — of a king

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