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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cabinet · cold · can · race · hand · court · rock · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rock — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. race — a contest
  5. court — of law
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. race — humankind
  13. cold — not warm
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cold — an illness
  19. race — the arms race
  20. hand — help
  21. court — for sport
  22. can — a tin
  23. hand — in cards
  24. court — of a king

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