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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mark — a grade
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. last — finally
  7. race — a contest
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. race — humankind
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mark — a trace
  15. fine — high quality
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fine — all right
  21. drill — army training
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. fine — a penalty

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