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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: rest · cold · toast · ball · court · board · pound · march

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. rest — what's left
  4. court — for sport
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. court — of law
  8. march — music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rest — a break
  11. court — of a king
  12. rest — what's left
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pound — a weight
  21. board — a committee
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. board — to get on
  24. toast — bread

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