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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. deal — to handle
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — for digging
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. tube — a container
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. court — of a king
  19. pitch — completely
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. spell — magic

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