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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: row · rash · craft · cold · court · mate · ball · drill

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. craft — boats
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. court — for sport
  17. row — to paddle
  18. drill — a practice
  19. row — a line
  20. drill — army training
  21. ball — a great time
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cold — an illness

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