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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cue — for pool
  8. tube — the underground
  9. net — for catching
  10. cap — a lid
  11. court — of a king
  12. net — after costs
  13. cue — a signal
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cue — a hint
  21. court — of law
  22. race — humankind
  23. cap — a hat
  24. tube — a container

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