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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. swing — to play on
  4. last — final
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. race — humankind
  8. spring — of water
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. court — of law
  11. last — to go on
  12. race — a contest
  13. squash — to crush
  14. race — the arms race
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. court — of a king
  17. swing — in golf
  18. lie — to recline
  19. swing — music
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. spring — the season
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. last — finally
  24. court — for sport

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