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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. court — of law
  3. roll — a cake
  4. last — finally
  5. roll — a list
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. board — a committee
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. row — a line
  12. game — wild animals
  13. court — of a king
  14. row — to paddle
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — final
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. race — the arms race
  19. court — for sport
  20. game — a match
  21. race — humankind
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. race — a contest
  24. board — to get on

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