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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: cold · safe · pit · ball · bank · perch · court · cap

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — an illness
  4. court — of law
  5. cap — of ice
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pit — in a race
  10. ball — a great time
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bank — for money
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bank — for money
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pit — a hole
  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