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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. shower — to wash
  3. court — for sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. game — wild animals
  8. shower — rain
  9. race — the arms race
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. craft — a skill
  13. court — of law
  14. craft — boats
  15. game — a match
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. land — a country
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. race — humankind
  23. branch — a division
  24. game — a kind of play

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