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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. last — final
  3. court — of law
  4. race — humankind
  5. last — to go on
  6. ground — a position
  7. court — of a king
  8. last — finally
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. ground — the earth
  12. game — a match
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — crushed
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mine — an explosive
  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