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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hand — in cards
  3. file — a line of people
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. court — of law
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. court — of a king
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hand — help
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bat — the animal
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. snap — to click
  17. file — a tool
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. file — a document
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. court — for sport
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. race — humankind

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