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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: ball · mine · present · fine · stick · court · cold · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. present — there
  3. court — for sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mine — for digging
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. court — of a king
  10. ball — a dance
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. fine — high quality
  14. cold — not warm
  15. court — of law
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fine — all right
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. mine — belonging to me

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