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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. court — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. court — of a king
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. race — humankind
  8. court — of law
  9. spell — magic
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. spell — a short time
  12. sharp — clever
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rest — what's left
  18. race — a contest
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. rest — a break
  21. swing — music
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. snap — to click
  24. wind — moving air

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