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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. court — of law
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. race — humankind
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. hand — in cards
  11. court — of a king
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. race — a contest
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. fine — all right
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. hand — help
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — high quality

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