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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
468
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: cold · content · ball · march · mug · cap · court · perch

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ball — a great time
  7. content — the amount
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ball — a dance
  10. march — the month
  11. content — happy
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. court — for sport
  15. march — the month
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. mug — a cup
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — music
  21. court — of a king
  22. mug — to rob
  23. court — of law
  24. cap — a lid

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