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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: jam · bear · staff · band · cap · cold · court · fall

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. staff — employees
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. court — of a king
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. cold — an illness
  7. staff — employees
  8. cap — a lid
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. staff — a stick
  16. band — a ring
  17. cap — of ice
  18. band — a music group
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cap — a hat
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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