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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: bear · craft · wound · court · swing · pass · squash · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. swing — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — to crush
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. court — for sport
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. court — of a king
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bear — the animal
  17. craft — boats
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. court — of law
  22. craft — a skill
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pass — to spend time

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