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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: court · nail · bore · game · ground · cell · cold · band

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. game — a match
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bore — to tire
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. game — wild animals
  8. court — for sport
  9. cold — not warm
  10. band — a music group
  11. ground — a position
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — of a king
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cold — an illness
  18. court — of law
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bore — to drill
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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