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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ground — the earth
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of a king
  17. stand — to bear
  18. court — for sport
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ground — crushed

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