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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. present — there
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. race — a contest
  5. spring — a coil
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rule — government
  8. court — for sport
  9. club — for golf
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. court — of a king
  12. club — a group
  13. court — of law
  14. shower — rain
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. present — the time now
  17. rule — a law
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spring — the season
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — humankind
  23. club — for dancing
  24. present — a gift

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