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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 120 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: fall · hand · row · court · lean · ground · cap · cold

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. lean — to bend
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fall — the season
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cap — a lid
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cold — not warm
  11. row — a line
  12. court — of a king
  13. ground — crushed
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — a position
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. hand — help
  23. lean — thin
  24. fall — to drop

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