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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 120 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. court — of law
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rule — government
  7. content — happy
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. scale — in music
  10. bank — for money
  11. scale — size or range
  12. court — of a king
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rule — a law
  17. bank — of a river
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. content — the amount
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bank — for money

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