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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. race — humankind
  5. swing — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. season — of the year
  8. kid — child
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kick — in football
  12. season — in sport
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pop — to visit
  15. court — for sport
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pop — music
  19. capital — money
  20. swing — to play on
  21. race — the arms race
  22. swing — in golf
  23. race — a contest
  24. pop — soda

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