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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: stand · fork · court · pit · kid · cap · bear · cold

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. pit — in a race
  7. court — of law
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. court — for sport
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kid — child
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cold — an illness
  19. court — of a king
  20. pit — a hole
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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