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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. key — in music
  3. roll — a cake
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. prune — to trim
  6. kid — child
  7. race — a contest
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. race — the arms race
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. kid — to tease
  16. court — of law
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. court — of a king
  19. race — humankind
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. roll — a list
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — for a lock

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